This could be the Regular sea urcin, Salmacis virgulata, but regarding identification of sea urchins it is best to have the actual specimen in front of you to be able to look at pedicellaria (claw shaped structures), pore holes of the ambulacral plates etc..
This could be the Regular sea urcin, Salmacis virgulata, but regarding identification of sea urchins it is best to have the actual specimen in front of you to be able to look at pedicellaria (claw shaped structures), pore holes of the ambulacral plates etc..
According to Sastry (2007) there are 113 recorded sea urchins from India (also several Salmacis species), and as previously mentioned all sea urchins can be tricky to id. If you need a definite answer I would not use just a photo for id.
Sastry 2007 has recorded 113 species but only 2 Salmacis viz S. bicolor and S. vrigulata . Out of the 113 species, 31 are incorrect entries having one nomen nudum and the remaining comprising of synonymies and emendations.
For sea urchin species along Indian waters, easy identification can be carried out using morphological characters. Besides, it is advised by experts like Clark way back in the 19th century. We have more than 7 echinoderm specialists in Tamil Nadu itself who are world renowned for their contributions in echinoderm taxonomy.