About Echinometra oblonga (Blainville, 1825)
Echinometra oblonga (Blainville, 1825) individuals display body color that ranges from dark purple to black. Their spines are shorter and blunter than those of other species in the genus Echinometra. This species typically inhabits rough-water regions of tropical reefs. To protect themselves from wave force, they live within reef holes, but they can also be found on exposed reef flats. As the urchins grow, they use their jaws to enlarge the holes they occupy in the reef. Their spines trap seaweed and algae from the reef, and they then transfer this captured food to their mouth. Echinometra oblonga is gonochoric, with external fertilization. After fertilization, the species' eggs are held either on the peristome or around the periproct.
