Phyllacanthus imperialis

Phyllacanthus imperialis, also known as the Sputnik urchin, imperial lance urchin, imperial sea urchin, imperial urchin, pencil sea urchin, lance urchin, knobby sputnik sea urchin, mine urchin, and land mine sea urchin, is a species of sea urchins in the family Cidaridae.[2]

Test (shell)

Phyllacanthus imperialis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Echinodermata
Class:
Echinoidea
Subclass:
Cidaroidea
Order:
Cidaroida
Family:
Cidaridae
Genus:
Phyllacanthus
Species:
P. imperialis
Binomial name
Phyllacanthus imperialis
Synonyms
  • Cidaris fustigera (Agassiz, 1963)
  • Cidaris imperialis (Lamarck, 1816)
  • Cidaris imperialis fustigera (Agassiz, 1863)
  • Cidarites imperialis Lamarck, 1816
  • Leiocidaris imperialis (Lamarck, 1816)
  • Phyllacanthus fustigera Agassiz, 1863
  • Phyllacanthus fustigerus Agassiz, 1863
  • Rhabdocidaris imperialis (Lamarck, 1816)

It has distinctive thick, blunt spikes. The test is brown or black. The spikes vary in color. This species emerges at night to eat invertebrates and sponges.[3] During the day, it tends to remain hidden in holes in the coral reef. Phyllacanthus imperialis is found throughout the Indo-Pacific region.[4]

References
  1. "Phyllacanthus imperialis". clarenbach.org.
  2. "WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Phyllacanthus imperialis (Lamarck, 1816)". marinespecies.org.
  3. "NaturaLista ยท Imperial Lance Urchin (Phyllacanthus imperialis)". NaturaLista.
  4. "Imperial Sea Urchin". Project Noah.
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