Welcome to the Marine Mili series, a regular column about all things marine!
During this series I aim to inspire people to want to protect our oceans and all the marine life that call our oceans home. Hopefully after reading each column, you would have learnt something new including what we can do to help protect and preserve our oceans. You can follow me and my journey on my Instagram page: _marine_mili.

Black sea urchins, also known as the long-spined sea urchin or the lime sea urchin, are marine invertebrates that belong to the group of echinoderms which also include sand dollars and sea cucumbers.

This species of sea urchin is regularly found along the eastern Victorian coastline, in shallow rocky reef areas.

This species of sea urchins’ sharp spines can grow to about thirty centimetres in length.

The shell of the sea urchin, which is called the test, can grow to around ten centimetres.

The black sea urchins diet includes seaweed and algae which they usually scrap off rocks, although they can eat other slow-moving creatures.

Black sea urchins have tube feet located all over their body with is how they move around.

The tube feet that are located on their underside help them move around and the rest of their tube feet help bring food to their mouths located on their underside.

Sea urchins have a special organ used for chewing called the Aristotle's lantern, which includes five teeth in a claw-like shape which helps them break down food before ingesting.

There are many predators of the black sea urchin, including Port Jackson and crested horn sharks, lobsters, sea stars and other fish species.

The long spines of a sea urchin are thin yet sharp and protect it from any potential predators that come by. The spines also release a toxin when spiked.