DiscoverSpeciesOther invertebrates
Short-spined urchin
Holopneustes porosissimus
- Usual depth1–7 m
- Water temperature15–23 °C
- Best monthsJanuary, October, and December
- How commonRare
Photo credit: (c) Kevin Sparrow, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Kevin Sparrow · CC BY · iNaturalist
About this species
Holopneustes porosissimus, the short-spined urchin, is a species of sea urchin within the family Temnopleuridae. It is found in southern regions of Australia, excluding Tasmania.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Holopneustes porosissimus”, 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: 83 records
- February: 43 records
- March: 32 records
- April: 40 records
- May: 26 records
- June: 26 records
- July: 44 records
- August: 45 records
- September: 47 records
- October: 52 records
- November: 33 records
- December: 54 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 1–7 m · Deepest record: 31.1 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 15–23 °C
Photos
(c) Kevin Sparrow, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Kevin Sparrow · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Peter Crowcroft, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Peter Crowcroft · CC BY · iNaturalist 
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist 
(c) Peter Crowcroft, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Peter Crowcroft, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) ttsquid, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) ttsquid, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
Names and classification
- English
- Short-spined urchin
Similar species
Inflated egg urchinHolopneustes inflatus
Short-spine urchinHolopneustes purpurascens
green-spined salmacisSalmacis sphaeroides
Little Pink UrchinAmblypneustes elevatus
Diamond patterned sea urchinAmblypneustes formosus
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).
- 234 open-data records from 1933 to 2011.
- Species data updated November 3, 2026.
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