Hi

Is the sample from India?

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..

Kind regards, Halldis Ringvold

Hi

Is the sample from India?

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..

Kind regards, Halldis Ringvold

Yes it is Salmacis virgulata.. link to more information of this species on my blogsite

https://marinelifeindia.wordpress.com/2013/07/31/regular-sea-urchin-salmacis-virgulata-l-agassiz-in-l-agassiz-desor-1846/

regards

Deepak

Hi

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.

Regards, Halldis Ringvold

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. 

sea urchin, but species cannot be confirmed with getting feedback of the morphological features.

Hi Halldis 

Yes , Sample collected from Palk Bay, India.

Very thanks for your valuable suggestions.

Thanks Deepak 

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. 

Hi Ganesh,

Since you have mentioned this is from Palk bay in India, shallow water specimen and overall appearance match with Salmacis virgulata. S. virgulata is one of very common "regular" echinoid found in the the Gulf of Mannar area. I have collected so many bycatch  specimens of S. virgulata in fish landing sites along the northern coast of Sri Lanka. If you need proper identification you can use Clark and Rowe, 1971 and online keys available at Echinoids Directory.

Best regards,

Gayashan

Clark, A.M.G. & Rowe, F.W.E., 1971. Monograph of shallow-water Indo-West Pacific echinoderms. British Museum Natural Hstory Publications, 690, pp.1–238.

Smith, A.B. & Kroh, A., 2011. The Echinoid Directory. World Wide Web electronic publication. Available at: http://www.nhm.ac.uk/research-curation/projects/echinoid-directory [Accessed May 3, 2015].