Spine photos

Purple sea urchin, spawning, releasing gametes into the ocean currents. Once adult purple sea urchins have reached sexual maturity, females and males release gametes into the ocean, a mode of external fertilization. The fertilized egg later settles, and begins growing into an adult.
Species: Purple urchin, Strongylocentrotus purpuratus
Image ID: 05346  

Starfish (sea star), detail showing tube feet ending in small suckers.
Species: Giant sea star, Pisaster giganteus
Location: La Jolla, California
Image ID: 07015  

Red urchin on rocky California reef.
Species: Red urchin, Strogylocentrotus franciscanus
Location: California
Image ID: 03802  

Starfish (sea star), dorsal surface detail.
Location: Punte Vicente Roca, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
Image ID: 07011  

Starfish (sea star), dorsal surface detail including spines and pincers.
Species: Giant sea star, Pisaster giganteus
Location: La Jolla, California
Image ID: 07013  

Starfish (sea star), dorsal surface detail including spines and pincers.
Species: Giant sea star, Pisaster giganteus
Location: La Jolla, California
Image ID: 07014  

Small fish trapped in spines of unidentified urchin.
Location: San Miguel Island, California
Image ID: 07016  

Starfish (sea star), dorsal surface detail.
Location: Punte Vicente Roca, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
Image ID: 07017