Short-spine urchin

Holopneustes purpurascens

Other invertebrates
IUCN: Not evaluated

Usual depth9–24 m
Water temperature14–23 °C
Best monthsJanuary, February, and April
How commonRare

Photo credit: (c) ttsquid, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

About this species

Holopneustes purpurascens is a species of sea urchin found in south eastern Australia. This species is sometimes found wrapped in kelp or sea grass. It is about the size of a golf ball when fully grown, with a distinct purple or lavender colour.

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

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

Loading the map

Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 38 records
February: 32 records
March: 18 records
April: 23 records
May: 19 records
June: 20 records
July: 16 records
August: 19 records
September: 20 records
October: 10 records
November: 18 records
December: 19 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 9–24 m · Deepest record: 24 m

0–10 m: 1 records
10–20 m: 0 records
20–30 m: 1 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 14–23 °C

12–14 °C: 5 records
14–16 °C: 28 records
16–18 °C: 5 records
18–20 °C: 10 records
20–22 °C: 45 records
22–24 °C: 18 records

Photos

(c) Tim, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist
(c) libby hepburn, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Thomas Mesaglio, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
(c) Max Campbell, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Tim, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Eldon E Ball, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

Names and classification

English: Short-spine urchin

Other scientific names: Amblypneustes purpurascens, Holopneustes pycnotylus

Similar species

Inflated egg urchin
Holopneustes inflatus
Short-spined urchin
Holopneustes porosissimus
Mespilia globulus
green-spined salmacis
Salmacis sphaeroides
Little Pink Urchin
Amblypneustes elevatus
Diamond patterned sea urchin
Amblypneustes 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).
182 open-data records from 1908 to 2007.
Species data updated November 3, 2026.

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