Urchin ID please...Possible Fire Urchin

Trickman2

Trickman2

New member
Was hoping to get a ID and true Scientific name on this guy. I believe it is a Asthenosoma group but not 100 percent sure. But I don't plan on poking myself to find out................. thanks in advance.

24079Urchin-ID32.jpg


24079Urchin-ID12.jpg
 
I have the same urchin. The aquarium in long beach has one as well. It is not a fire, but it is posinious. saltwaterfish.com sells them as rainbow uchins. It is a decorator. Mine is very active. I have held him, but that was before I found out it was dangerous. Don't let it puncture the skin.
 
It doesn't seem to have longer white spines around the base which would rule out Asthenosoma. Is it from the Indo-Pacific? I think it's more likely to be Salmacis belli which has uniformly short banded spines with reddish bases. This urchin is in a different family than Asthenosoma so it might not be poisonous.
 
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It prefers areas with sea grass & rubble. Sounds like it's an herbivore although I don't know that for sure.
 
I didn't find any references about it having venom but don't take my word for it - I just may not have enough references! Looks like you have enough algae for it assuming it is a herbivore.
 
Got a response from Ron Shimek Same response and he said they are not particulary venomous. So I am pretty happy about that.
Thanks for the Help
 
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