Veriegated Sea Urchin (test)

Habitat:

Occurs in tropical waters in the western Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. It is found on rocky reefs, on or under rocks, on sandy or muddy substrates and in seagrass meadows.

Notes:

I found several tests strewn about the beach this morning, this being the largest most complete. It seems that this urchin was freshly deceased as it was not completely hollow yet and was holding on to several spines still. NOTE: The last two pictures are obviously set ups, arranged on some driftwood for a more artistic photo. You can see the mouth on the bottom center of the smaller one.