White sea urchin in MB?

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Todd128

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Location
San Carlos, CA
# of dives
50 - 99
I spotted what appeared to be an adult white sea urchin at Lovers. The invertebrate guide I have suggests that Monterey is out of the range of these animals.

Has anyone seen one of these around here? If not, any suggestions what local critter this may have been? Thanks, Todd
 
What is its species name?
 
archman:
What is its species name?
Thanks for your response--the textbook I have (Gotshall, 2nd Ed) gives Lytechinus anamesus as the species and a range south of the Channel Is.

I saw the critter in question at fourty-something feet, cruising along a broad blade of some kind of seaweed. Size was maybe 2".

For anyone interested, attached is a photo of a white urchin...photo looks fairly close to what I saw. Todd
 

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Maybe it got scared and turned white?
 
Chuck Tribolet:
you sure you didn't see a small white sea
cumumber? Don't be insulted

Not sure...if you have a pic of the white cucumber handy, please share. I'd like to check it out.

I did spend some time studying this critter, as it was striking. Other notes: it appeared to be roughly spherical, if body shape might possibly differentiate cucumber and urchin. It made remarkable progress moving down a leaf while I observed. Uniform extensions or tendrils were evident, and some of those appeared to be light brown or light yellow in color.

Not insulted at all, Chuck! Thanks for sharing your interest and expertise. Todd
 
Yup, that's definitely a sea urchin. The tube feet are wiggling all over the place. Any anyway, if it was a sea cucumber, the body symmetry would be oriented front-back rather than top-bottom.

I don't know beans about California biogeography, but the critter looks like a Lytechinus to me. Or a Strongylocentrotus, at least from the external anatomy.

I bet if you post to DrBill, he'll tell you everything you want to know about this thing.
 
archman:
I bet if you post to DrBill, he'll tell you everything you want to know about this thing.

And if you post to a japanese guy :japanese:, he'll turn it to sushi for you. :D
 

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