Collector Urchin

Collector urchins are dark in color, usually bluish-purple with white spines. The pedicles are also white, with a dark or black base. Individuals found at Green Island had orange-tipped spines. The spines of some specimens are wholly orange, while those of others are only orange-tipped or completely white. This color disappears when the individual dies or is taken out of the ocean, and is difficult to preserve. Collector urchins reach 10 to 15 centimetres (4 to 6 in) in size. Debris tends to "collect" on these urchins, hence their name.

Collector urchins are found in the waters of the Indo-Pacific, Hawaii, the Red Sea, and The Bahamas. They are distributed from Mozambique to the Red Sea, westward to Hawaii and Clarion Island, eastward to Tuamotus, and as far south as Port Jackson. It also occurs at Shark Bay on the west coast of Australia and have been found in the waters of Governor's Harbor, Eleuthera Island (Bahamas). Mature collector urchins prefer open sea bottoms with some cover, but the young prefer rocky areas for concealment. Collector urchins inhabit depths of 2 to 30 metres (7 to 100 ft).

Collector urchins are economically important in some parts of the world. They are edible and sometimes exploited by humans; as a result, they have become less abundant. Over the past ten years, overexploitation has caused a sharp decline in the collector urchin population.