Phyllacanthus imperialis

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
(Lamarck, 1816)[1][2]
Synonyms

see text

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 sea urchin in the family Cidaridae.[2]

Test (shell)

It has distinctive thick, blunt spikes. The test is brown or black. The spikes vary in colour. 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]

Synonyms

References

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