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Phylum Echinodermata > Class Echinodea > heart urchins
Lovenia heart urchin
Lovenia elongata*
Family Loveniidae
updated Apr 2020
Where seen? These long-spined heart urchins with a deep groove in the front is sometimes seen on our Southern shores.

Features: 6-8cm long. Body teardrop-shaped, with a deep groove in the front and tapered at the back end. Petaloid not obvious in living specimens. Sparse long spines which are banded, with many shorter spines covering the body. It can use these spines to burrow and to move around quite rapidly, as Mei Lin's video clip (below) shows. Overall colour dark rose pink.

Upperside
Kusu Island, Jul 04

Side view

Underside

Caught by a swimming crab!
Terumbu Pempang Laut, May 11

*ID needs confirmation.
Lovenia heart urchins on Singapore shores
On wildsingapore flickr
Other sightings on Singapore shores

Changi East, Oct 11

Changi East, Oct 11

Photo shared by Loh Kok Sheng on his blog.

Changi Lost Coast, Jun 22
Photo shared by Loh Kok Sheng on facebook.

East Coast PCN, Jul 20
Photo shared by Loh Kok Sheng on facebook.

Sentosa Serapong, May 17
Photo shared by Jianlin Liu on facebook.

Sentosa, Jul 12

Sentosa, Jul 12

Photo shared by Loh Kok Sheng on his blog.

Cyrene Reef, May 11

Photo shared by Loh Kok Sheng on his blog.

Kusu Island, May 17
Photo shared by Marcus Ng on facebook.

Pulau Hantu, Jan 12
Photo shared by Loh Kok Sheng on his blog.

Pulau Semakau, Feb 09
Photo shared by Marcus Ng on his flickr.
shared by Neo Mei Lin on her blog

Links References
  • Lane, David J.W. and Didier Vandenspiegel. 2003. A Guide to Sea Stars and Other Echinoderms of Singapore. Singapore Science Centre. 187pp.
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