Sphaerechinus granularis

S. granularis is a large sea urchin, somewhat flattened dorsally and growing to fifteen centimetres in diameter. There are two distinct colour forms. The test is purple in both but one has purple spines and the other white. The spines are short and blunt, all the same length, and arranged neatly in rows.Picton, B.E. & Morrow, C.C. (2010) [http://www.habitas.org.uk/marinelife/species.asp?item=ZB3750 Sphaerechinus granularis (Lamarck, 1816)]. Encyclopedia of Marine Life of Britain and Ireland. Retrieved 2011-08-27.

Erizo de mar violáceo (Sphaerechinus granularis), Parque natural de la Arrábida, Portugal, 2021-09-10, DD 57.jpg|White Sphaerechinus granularis .

Sphaerechinus granularis - Tiergarten Schönbrunn.jpg|Dark pink specimen

Sphaerechinus granularis MHNT.ZOO.2005.0.239.jpg|Both sides of a dried specimen. - MHNT

Erizo de mar violáceo (Sphaerechinus granularis), Parque natural de la Arrábida, Portugal, 2022-07-20, DD 13.jpg|Close up

S. granularis is found in the Mediterranean Sea and the eastern Atlantic Ocean, from the Channel Islands south to Cape Verde and the Gulf of Guinea. It favours sheltered locations and lives on rocks covered with seaweed or gravelly substrates. It is usually found in the neritic zone down to about {{convert|30|m|ft|round=10}}, but it is occasionally as {{convert|130|m|ft|round=10}}.{{cite journal |last1=Vafidis |first1=Dimitrios |last2=Antoniadou |first2=Chryssanthi |last3=Ioannidi |first3=Vassiliki |title=Population Density, Size Structure, and Reproductive Cycle of the Comestible Sea Urchin Sphaerechinus granularis (Echinodermata: Echinoidea) in the Pagasitikos Gulf (Aegean Sea) |journal=Animals |date=26 August 2020 |volume=10 |issue=9 |pages=1506 |doi=10.3390/ani10091506 |pmid=32858926 |pmc=7552135 |doi-access=free}} It is also found in meadows of the seagrass Posidonia oceanica.{{cite journal|author=Verlaque, M.|year= 1981|title= Preliminary data on some Posidonia feeders|journal= Rapp. P.v. Ciesm Monaco|volume= 2|issue=27|pages=201–02}}

S. granularis often covers itself with morsels of algae and shell fragments, which are held in place by the tube feet and by the claw-like structures known as pedicellaria.[http://www.european-marine-life.org/30/sphaerechinus-granularis.php Sphaerechinus granularis]. European Marine Life. Retrieved 2011-08-27. It grazes on algae, especially encrusting coralline algae, seagrass blades and their epiphytic organisms and detritus.{{cite web |url=http://wildlife-archipelago.gr/wordpress/marine-inverts/purple-sea-urchin-sphaerechinus-granularis/ |title=Purple Sea Urchin (Sphaerechinus granularis)] |work=Archipelagos Wildlife Library |access-date=27 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120330231933/http://wildlife-archipelago.gr/wordpress/marine-inverts/purple-sea-urchin-sphaerechinus-granularis/ |archive-date=30 March 2012}}

Spawning takes place at any time of year but the peak period is spring and early summer. Eggs and sperm are liberated into the water column, where egg fertilisation takes place. The larvae are planktonic. After several moults, the echinopluteus larva settles and undergoes metamorphosis before developing into a juvenile.

In Tunisia, S. granularis is found living in association with two other species of sea urchins, Centrostephanus longispinus and Paracentrotus lividus. It is preyed upon by the starfish Marthasterias glacialis and Luidia ciliaris.

File:Sphaerechinus granularis three color forms.jpg

The gonads of S. granularis are considered a delicacy in Italy, Provence{{cite web |url=http://www.echinodermes.org/cgi-bin/echino/fiche.py?echinide+12 |title=Sphærechinus granularis (Lamarck 1816) |publisher=Le Monde des Echinodermes |language=French |access-date=2011-08-27}} and Catalonia.{{cite news |last1=Eckhardt |first1=Robyn |title=On the Costa Brava of Spain, a Sea Urchin Quest |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/06/travel/on-the-costa-brava-of-spain-a-sea-urchin-quest.html |access-date=1 November 2022 |work=The New York Times |date=2 March 2016 |url-access=limited}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category}}

• {{SealifePhotos|124427}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q1130991}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Toxopneustidae

Category:Echinoderms of the Atlantic Ocean

Category:Fauna of the Mediterranean Sea

Category:Taxa named by Jean-Baptiste Lamarck

Category:Echinoderms described in 1816

Category:Sea urchins as food