#5010 · 🪼 jellyfish, starfish, worms & co
European Edible Sea Urchin
🇳🇱 Eetbare zeeappel ·Echinus esculentus
📍 Northumberland, England, GB
📍 Shetland Islands, Scotland, GB
📍 United Kingdom
📍 Argyll and Bute, Scotland, GB
10 photos from iNaturalist (Creative Commons) · credits & licences
- 1. © Guido Schmitz · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 2. © Asbjørn Hansen · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
- 3. © Nannie · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
- 4. © Nannie · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
- 5. © ninjawil · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 6. Northumberland, England, GB:© Buzz G · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 7. © François Roche · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 8. Shetland Islands, Scotland, GB:© Tim Johnson · CC BY 4.0
- 9. United Kingdom:© philwilkinson · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 10. Argyll and Bute, Scotland, GB:© Iona M. · CC BY 4.0
what is it?
Echinus esculentus , the European edible sea urchin or common sea urchin , is a species of marine invertebrate in the Echinidae family. It is found in coastal areas of western Europe down to a depth of 1,200 m (3,900 ft). It is considered "Near threatened" in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
base stats
Bars compare against all animals on log scales: up to 300,000 Dutch and 600,000 worldwide sightings (the most-seen species), 150 t (blue whale), 30 m and 400 years (Greenland shark).
fun facts
- No confirmed wild sightings in the Netherlands on iNaturalist: you'd have to travel for this one.
- 1,325 observations worldwide on iNaturalist.
- Scientifically named in 1758 (268 years ago).
fact sheet
- English
- European Edible Sea Urchin
- Nederlands
- Eetbare zeeappel
- scientific name
- Echinus esculentus
- class
- Echinoidea
- order
- Camarodonta
- family
- Echinidae
- IUCN Red List
- NT · near threatened
- sightings in NL
- 0
- sightings in Europe
- 989
- sightings worldwide
- 1,325
- GBIF records in NL
- 10
- weight
- —
- length
- —
- lifespan
- —
- named
- 1758
IUCN in Dutch: gevoelig. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: iNaturalist taxon 99684, Wikidata Q664443, GBIF 5188139, Wikipedia (EN), Wikipedia (NL). Intro text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.