11-4-15

Alexandra Ewing

Purple-Spined Sea Urchin

    Arbacia punctuata

The Purple-Spined Sea Urchin lives in the Gulf of Mexico and travels up the East Coast. The region that this organism lives is usually the shells of other creatures in the ocean so that it can be protected and move around a lot easier.  This organism is classified into the domain of Eukarya and the kingdom of Animalia. The Purple-Spined Sea Urchin belongs to the phylum of Echinodermata and the class of Echinoidea. This organism is in the order of Arbaicioida and the family of Arbaciidae.  The genus of this organism is Arbaici and the species is punctuata.  This organism has radial symmetry and is an endothermic organism.  An interesting fact about The Purple-Spined Sea Urchin is that it is a common delicacy in foreign countries.  A structural adaptation for the Purple-Spined Sea Urchin is that it has a bright purple color that helps scare away predators.  A behavioral adaptation for this organism is that they night hunt.  Another structural adaptation for the Purple-Spined Sea Urchin would be the spikes that help defend predators.  This organism is a heterotroph due to eating plants and animals.  Some prey include dead fish, sponges, and mussels. Some of this organism’s pray include Sea Otters, crabs, and snails. The Purple-Spined Sea Urchin has long spikes that help protect himself from predators.  The Purple-Spined Sea Urchin is a very interesting creature!