Tripneustes ventricosus, commonly called the West Indian Sea Egg, is a species of sea urchin

Sea urchin

Sea urchins or urchins are small, spiny, globular animals which, with their close kin, such as sand dollars, constitute the class Echinoidea of the echinoderm phylum. They inhabit all oceans. Their shell, or "test", is round and spiny, typically from across. Common colors include black and dull...

. They are common in the Caribbean

Caribbean

The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...

, Bahamas, and Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

, and may be found at depths of 0 to 10 m (0 to 32.8 ).

Description

These urchins are dark in colour, usually black, dark purple, or reddish brown, with white spines 1 to 2 cm long. They can reach 10 to 15 cm (3.9 to 5.9 ) in size. They are often covered with seagrass and debris similar to the closely related Tripneustes gratilla

Collector urchin

The collector urchin is a species of sea urchin. Collector urchins are found at depths of in the waters of the Indo-Pacific, Hawaii, and the Red Sea. They can reach in size.-Description:...

.