Slate pencil urchin

Heterocentrotus mamillatus

Other invertebrates
IUCN: Not evaluated

Usual depth2–18 m
Water temperature13–30 °C
Best monthsJanuary and September
How commonOccasional

About this species

Heterocentrotus mamillatus, commonly known as the slate pencil urchin, red slate pencil urchin, or red pencil urchin, is a species of tropical sea urchin from the Indo-Pacific region.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Heterocentrotus mamillatus”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

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Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 178 records
February: 4 records
March: 8 records
April: 10 records
May: 17 records
June: 13 records
July: 30 records
August: 61 records
September: 129 records
October: 29 records
November: 9 records
December: 4 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 2–18 m · Deepest record: 18 m

0–10 m: 206 records
10–20 m: 226 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 13–30 °C

12–14 °C: 1 records
14–16 °C: 0 records
16–18 °C: 0 records
18–20 °C: 0 records
20–22 °C: 0 records
22–24 °C: 33 records
24–26 °C: 45 records
26–28 °C: 91 records
28–30 °C: 19 records

Names and classification

English: Slate pencil urchin, slate pencil urchin

Names in 3 more languages

German: Griffel-Seeigel
French: Oursin crayon
Japanese: パイプウニ

Other scientific names: Acrocladia blainvillei, Acrocladia blainvillii, Acrocladia hastifera, Acrocladia mamillata, Acrocladia mammillata, Acrocladia planispina, Acrocladia planissima, Acrocladia serialis, Cidaris mammillata, Echinometra (Acrocladia) planispina, Echinometra blainvillii, Echinometra carinata, Echinometra hastifera, Echinometra mammillata, Echinus (Heterocentrotus) carinatus, Echinus (Heterocentrotus) postelsii, Echinus carinatus, Echinus castaneus, Echinus mamillatus, Echinus mammillatus, Heterocentrotus carinatus, Heterocentrotus mammillatus, Heterocentrotus postelsii, Heterocentrus mamillatus

Similar species

Sources and credits

Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
909 open-data records from 1758 to 2023.

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