Psammechinus microtuberculatus
| Psammechinus microtuberculatus | |
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| Psammechinus microtuberculatus | |
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| Species: | P. microtuberculatus
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| Binomial name | |
| Psammechinus microtuberculatus (Blainville, 1825)[1]
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Psammechinus microtuberculatus, also known as the green sea urchin,[2] is a species of sea urchin in the family Parechinidae.[1]
Description
This is a small, brown, herbivorous[3] sea urchin nearly spherical in shape. It has with short spines greenish or whitish in colour. It grows to a maximum diameter of 5 centimetres.[3]
Distribution
Psammechinus microtuberculatus is found in the western and eastern Atlantic Ocean, the Adriatic Sea and Aegean Sea.[4] It also occurs throughout the entire Mediterranean Sea, though very rare.[3]
Habitat
This species occurs in the benthic zone at depths of between 1 and 685 metres.[3] It prefers to live near sandy areas, and can be found on hard bottoms of mud or rock.[5]
Parasites
Psammechinus microtuberculatus is known to host the following ectoparasites:[4]
- Asterocheres minutus (Claus), (1889)
- Asterocheres violaceus (Claus), (1889)
References
- ^ a b "WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Psammechinus microtuberculatus (Blainville, 1825)". Marinespecies.org. Retrieved 2012-06-27.
- ^ "Psammechinus microtuberculatus". Natuurlijkmooi.net. Retrieved 2012-07-21.
- ^ a b c d "Psammechinus microtuberculatus". Sealifebase.org. Retrieved 2012-07-21.
- ^ a b "WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species". Marinespecies.org. Retrieved 2012-07-21.
- ^ "Psammechinus microtuberculatus, Sea urchin". Seadb.net. Retrieved 2012-07-21.