---
title: "Atlantic Long-spined Sea Urchin"
description: "Diadema antillarum — Andere dieren. Diadema antillarum, also known as the lime urchin, black sea urchin, or the long-spined sea urchin, is a species of sea urchin in the family Diadematidae."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/nl/animal/atlantic-long-spined-sea-urchin
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Atlantic Long-spined Sea Urchin

> Diadema antillarum — Andere dieren. Diadema antillarum, also known as the lime urchin, black sea urchin, or the long-spined sea urchin, is a species of sea urchin in the family Diadematidae.

- Scientific name: *Diadema antillarum*
- Category: `other` (Andere dieren)
- Habitats: `sea` (Zee en kust)
- iNaturalist observations: 3313
- Wikidata: [Q1999987](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1999987)
- iNaturalist taxon: [52290](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/52290)

## Names

- en: Atlantic Long-spined Sea Urchin
- de: Atlantischer Diademseeigel
- es: Erizo diadema
- fr: Oursin-diadème des Antilles

## Countries with the most observations

MX (404), US (300), PR (219), VI (199), HN (189), KY (155), GP (142), PA (136), MQ (119), CU (113), BZ (112), JM (108)

## Summary

Diadema antillarum, also known as the lime urchin, black sea urchin, or the long-spined sea urchin, is a species of sea urchin in the family Diadematidae.
This sea urchin is characterized by its exceptionally long black spines.
It is the most abundant and important herbivore on the coral reefs of the western Atlantic and Caribbean basin. When the population of these sea urchins is at a healthy level, they are the main grazers which prevent algae overgrowth of the reef.

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

## Photo

![Atlantic Long-spined Sea Urchin](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/atlantic-long-spined-sea-urchin/medium.jpg)

Photo: NOAA · Public domain · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/52290

## Machine access

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