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Tuxedo urchin
Mespilia globulus
A peaceful, small sea urchin prized for its striking velvety royal blue bands. It serves as an incredibly efficient algae grazer for marine reef tanks.
Class:Echinoidea
Order:Camarodonta
Family:Temnopleuridae
Genus:Mespilia
Species:Mespilia globulus
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Water Temperature
22 - 26 °C
pH Value
8.1 - 8.4
Water type
Marine
Adult size
5.6 cm
Minimum group
>= 1
KH
8 - 12 dKH
Species description
Geographical Origin and Habitat: Mespilia globulus is widely distributed throughout the warm tropical waters of the Indo-Pacific, from East Africa and the Seychelles to Australia, southern Japan, and various Central Pacific islands. It is commonly found on shallow coral reefs, rocky shores, and sandy lagoons rich in seagrasses and macroalgae, at depths between 1 and 15 meters.
Taxonomy: Belonging to the family Temnopleuridae and the genus Mespilia. It features a rigid, spherical test covered in short, dense spines arranged in five distinct radial bands. Adults reach a maximum size of 6 to 7 centimeters in diameter, making it an ideal size for home aquariums compared to larger urchins.
Social Behavior: Peaceful, slow-moving, and primarily nocturnal. It spends daylight hours hiding in crevices and emerges at night to graze on algae using its specialized mouthparts (Aristotle's lantern). It exhibits a carrying behavior, using tube feet to collect small rocks, shells, and coral frags to camouflage itself from predators.
Coloration and Sexual Dimorphism: Spines are short and range in color from reddish-brown to grey. These spines are separated by five bare, velvety bands of a striking royal blue or dark emerald green, giving it a tuxedo-like appearance. There is no visible sexual dimorphism; spawning occurs broadcast into the water column.
Care, breeding and tankmates
Tank Setup: Requires a mature marine aquarium of at least 60-80 liters with plenty of stable live rock. It is critical to secure small coral frags and loose rocks with epoxy or glue, as the urchin will wedge itself into tight spaces and try to carry loose objects away on its back as camouflage.
Diet and Feeding: A voracious herbivore. It is an excellent janitor, consuming green hair algae, film algae, turf algae, and coralline algae from rocks and glass. If the aquarium lacks sufficient algae growth, they must be supplemented with dried seaweed (nori) attached to a clip or placed near their path.
Water Quality: Demands stable reef parameters: temperature of 22-26 °C, pH of 8.1-8.4, salinity at SG 1.023-1.025, and low nitrate levels. They are highly sensitive to copper-based treatments, which are toxic, and to sudden shifts in salinity (osmotic shock), requiring a slow drip acclimation process.
Compatibility and Tankmates: Completely reef-safe and compatible with almost all peaceful community fish, corals, and other invertebrates. Avoid housing with natural predators of sea urchins, such as large triggerfish, puffers, boxfish, and large wrasses that are capable of flipping them over and crushing their test.
Aquarium Breeding: Breeding in home aquariums is very rare. They spawn by releasing gametes into the water column, where fertilization occurs. The microscopic larvae (pluteus stage) are pelagic and delicate, and they are typically skimmed out or consumed by filter feeders before they can metamorphose.
Risks and Diseases: The loss of spines is the primary indicator of stress, starvation, or poor water quality. If it begins shedding spines, check salinity immediately and ensure it has enough food. Requires adequate calcium, magnesium, and alkalinity levels in the water to support and rebuild its calcium carbonate test.
Geographic Origin and Distribution
Mespilia globulus is widely distributed throughout the warm tropical waters of the Indo-Pacific, from East Africa and the Seychelles to Australia, southern Japan, and various Central Pacific islands. It is commonly found on shallow coral reefs, rocky shores, and sandy lagoons rich in seagrasses and macroalgae, at depths between 1 and 15 meters.
Origin
Tropical oceans and reefsAfrica and MadagascarEast AsiaAustralia, New Guinea, and Oceania
Invertebrate profile
- Diet
- No verified data available
- Ecological role
- No verified data available
- Life expectancy
- No verified data available
- Adult size
- 5.6 cm
- Jump risk
- No verified data available
- Shock sensitivity
- No verified data available
- Calcium and minerals
- No verified data available
- Molting
- No verified data available
- Reproduction
- No verified data available
- Compatibility & tankmates
- No verified data available
The catalog's scalar value is 5.6 cm. The MOBS marine organism body-size database source reports a maximum adult measurement of 5.6 cm for this species, recorded as width or diameter. These figures are not interchangeable: the first is the profile's editorial reference, whereas the second is a published maximum under a specific measurement convention; differences among sources can reflect sex, population, life stage and measuring method.
Image gallery
Licensed images linked to the species or, when marked, to the closest representative taxon.
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