---
title: "Violet Sea Urchin"
description: "Sphaerechinus granularis — Other animals. Sphaerechinus granularis is a species of sea urchin in the family Toxopneustidae, commonly known as the violet sea urchin, or sometimes the purple sea urchin (though the latter is also a common name for a Pacific sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus)."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/violet-sea-urchin
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Violet Sea Urchin

> Sphaerechinus granularis — Other animals. Sphaerechinus granularis is a species of sea urchin in the family Toxopneustidae, commonly known as the violet sea urchin, or sometimes the purple sea urchin (though the latter is also a common name for a Pacific sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus).

- Scientific name: *Sphaerechinus granularis*
- Category: `other` (Other animals)
- Habitats: `sea` (Sea & coast)
- iNaturalist observations: 2894
- Wikidata: [Q1130991](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1130991)
- iNaturalist taxon: [118753](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/118753)

## Names

- en: Violet Sea Urchin
- de: Violetter Seeigel
- es: Erizo cachero
- fr: Oursin granuleux

## Countries with the most observations

ES (714), FR (684), HR (526), PT (319), GR (161), IT (153), ME (27), TR (15), AL (12), SI (6), DZ (5), MT (5)

## Summary

Sphaerechinus granularis is a species of sea urchin in the family Toxopneustidae, commonly known as the violet sea urchin, or sometimes the purple sea urchin (though the latter is also a common name for a Pacific sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus). It is the only species in the genus Sphaerechinus. Its range includes the Mediterranean Sea and eastern Atlantic Ocean.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sphaerechinus

## Photo

![Violet Sea Urchin](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/violet-sea-urchin/medium.jpg)

Photo: Marino Linić · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/117555766

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/violet-sea-urchin?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).