Higher classification Echinus | Genus Echinus Rank Species | |
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Similar Echinus, Gracilechinus acutus, Echinidae, Spatangus purpureus, Echinoida | ||
Echinus melo, melon sea urchin, is a species of sea urchin in the family Echinidae.
Contents
Description
This species grows up to 17 cm (7 in) in diameter. It is spherical or slightly cone-shaped, and the colour of the test is mainly pinkish, yellowish, or greenish-yellow, and banded with white and pale brown, giving it a segmented appearance. The long primary spines are few in number and olive green with pale tips. They grow in a single row on each ambulacral plate. The much shorter secondary spines are yellowish green and are densely packed in several rows.
Distribution
The melon sea urchin is found in the Mediterranean Sea and the eastern Atlantic Ocean between the Azores and the Bay of Biscay, and occasionally as far north as Ireland and Cornwall.
Biology
E. melo is mainly a herbivore, grazing on algae, but it also consumes small invertebrates.
