Amblypneustes pallidus
Short-spined urchin
Distribution
Temperate Australasia
Description
Small, short-spined species with a distinctive appearance. The primary spines are yellow with pink tips, the secondary spines pink and the tube feet long and dark. Like a very closely related sea urchin found in the eastern states, Amblypneustes formosus, the species has a distinctive zigzag pattern of diamond-shaped patches running down the interambulacral area of the test. Rarely seen by divers, perhaps because of its small size, but is sometimes caught in dredge or trawl.
Information
Max Size: 3 cm
Sea Temperature Range: 14.4-23.2°C
Depth: 1-180m
Habitat Generalization Index: N/A
Also referred to as the SGI (Species Generalisation Index), this describes the habitat niche breadth of the species. Species with values less than 15 are found in a relatively narrow range of reef habitat types (specialists), while those over 25 may be found on most hard substrates within their range (generalists). Learn more here.
Conservation and Rarity
IUCN Status: Not Evaluated
Occurrence: Infrequent (2.5% of sites)
Occurrence describes how often the species is found on surveys within its distribution. It is calculated as the % of reef sites surveyed by RLS divers across all the ecoregions in which the species has been observed
Abundance: Several (7 per transect)
Abundance is calculated as the average number of individuals recorded per RLS transect, where present.
Edit by: GJ Edgar. 2008. Australian Marine Life. New Holland, Sydney