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Animal profile

Red Sea Urchin

Mesocentrotus franciscanus

EchinoideaRocky subtidal reefs and kelp beds of the north-east Pacific

Field profile

A large urchin with long red to purple spines and a test that can exceed fifteen centimetres. It grazes drift kelp and is the main species in the western North American urchin fishery. Individuals appear to be extremely long-lived.

Scope note

This is an editorial profile, not a diagnostic field-identification guide or a substitute for current conservation assessments. Follow the cited sources on each fact for the evidence trail.

Published field notes

2024-01-20

Red Sea Urchin

Red sea urchins may live past a hundred years

Growth-band and radiocarbon-based ageing has produced estimates well over a century for large individuals, with little sign of the physical decline that age usually brings. The exact ceiling remains an estimate rather than a count.

Read with evidence →

Red Sea Urchin | Daily Animal Facts