Galapagos Species Database
The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.
Echinometra vanbrunti
erizo morado, Purple sea urchin
Depth: intertidal to 53 m, in semi-protected high-energy beaches.
Domain
Eukaryota
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Echinodermata
Class
Echinoidea
Order
Camarodonta
Superfamily
Odontophora
Family
Echinometridae
Genus
Echinometra
Species
vanbrunti
Taxon category: Accepted
Syn.: Echinometra macrostoma (Lütken, 1864) (subjective junior synonym) Echinometra rupicola A. Agassiz, 1863 (subjective junior synonym) Echinometra van brunti A. Agassiz, 1863 (incorrect subsequent spelling) Echinometra van-brunti A. Agassiz, 1863 (incorrect subsequent spelling) Ellipsechinus macrostomus Lütken, 1864 (subjective junior synonym) Heliocidaris stenopora H.L. Clark, 1912 (subjective junior synonym) Toxocidaris stenopora (H.L. Clark, 1912) (subjective junior synonym), fide Horton et al. (2021)
Origin: Native
Map of specimen collection localities or observation records for this species in our collections database.
Distribution: Mexico, Monterrey, California, Peru, Revillagigedos, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Malpelo, Peru, Cocos Islands and Ecuador including Galápagos Islands
- Appeltans, W. Bouchet, P., Boxshall, G.A., Fauchald, K., Gordon, D.P., Hoeksema, B.W., Poore, G.C.B., van Soest, R.W.M., Stöhr, S., Walter, T.C., Costello, M.J. (eds.) (2010) World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS). Available online at http://www.marinespecies.org.
- Banks, S. Vera, M. & Chiriboga, A. (2009) Establishing Reference Points to Assess Long-Term Change in Zooxanthellate Coral Communities of the Northern Galapagos Coral Reefs. J. Sci. Conserv. in the Galapagos Islands, p. 43-64.
- Edgar, G.J. Fariña, J.M., Calvopiña, M., Martínez, C. & Banks, S. (2002) Comunidades submareales rocosas II: Peces y macroinvertebrados móviles. In: Danulat, E. & Edgar, G.J. (eds.) (2002): Reserva Marina de Galápagos. Línea Base de la Biodiversidad. Fundación Charles Darwin/Servicio Parque Nacional Galápagos, Santa Cruz, Galápagos, Ecuador, p. 68-97.
- Hickman, C.P. Jr. (1998) A Field Guide to Sea Stars and other Echinoderms of Galápagos. Sugar Spring Press, Lexington, Virginia, 83 pp.
- Horton, T. Horton, T., Kroh, A., Ahyong, S., Bailly, N., Boyko, C. B., Brandão, S. N., Gofas, S., Hooper, J. N. A., Hernandez, F., Holovachov, O., Mees, J., Molodtsova, T. N., Paulay, G., Decock, W., Dekeyzer, S., Poffyn, G., Vandepitte, L., Vanhoorne, B., Adlard, R., ... Zhao, Z. (2021) World Register of Marine Species. Available from https://www.marinespecies.org at VLIZ.
- Maluf, L.Y. (1991) Echinoderm Fauna of the Galápagos Islands. In: James, M.J. (ed.): Galápagos Marine Invertebrates. Taxonomy, Biogeography, and Evolution in Darwin's Islands. Plenum Press, New York and London, p. 345-367.
- Sonnenholzner, J. Brand, M., Francisco, V., Hearn, A., Luzuriaga, M., Guarderas, P & Navarro, J. (2013) Echinoderms of Ecuador. In: Alvarado, J & Solís-Marín, A. (eds.) (2013) Echinoderm research and Diversity in Latin America. 183-233 pp.
You are welcome to download and use the information found in this page, acknowledging its source.
This page should be cited as follows:
"Galapagos Species Database, Echinometra vanbrunti", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=7988. Accessed 31 October 2026.