Asthenosoma ijimai

Japanese: イイジマフクロウニ（英語表記）Asthenosoma ijimai

A large sea urchin with a soft shell. Its shell is 13 cm in diameter, 4 cm high, and flattened from top to bottom. The shell plates are not fully bonded, so the entire shell is soft. The aboral side has a clear white band on a dark reddish brown background, and is densely covered with large spines with white tips. The large spine on the oral side is quite thick, has a curved tip, and has a slender white body. Between the large spines are small spines with white bodies. The epidermis in the central zone of the ambulatory and interambulatory zones has reddish brown or reddish purple spots. There are poison glands at the base of the spines, so it is dangerous to grab them with bare hands. They are found south of Sagami Bay, and live on the seabed at depths of 8 to 120 m.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia About Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Information

Japanese:

棘皮動物門ウニ綱フクロウニ目フクロウニ科。大型で殻が軟らかいウニ。殻は直径 13cm，高さ 4cm内外で上下に扁平。各殻板の結合が十分でないために殻全体が軟らかい。反口側は濃赤褐色の地に鮮明な白色帯をもち，先端部が白い大型のとげで密におおわれる。口側の大棘はかなり太く，先端は彎曲し，細長い白色体をもつ。大棘の間には白色体をもった小棘がある。歩帯と間歩帯の中心帯域の表皮に赤褐色ないし赤紫色の斑点がある。とげの基部に毒腺があるので素手でつかむのは危険である。相模湾以南に分布し，水深8～120mの海底にすむ。

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