Sea Potato

Echinocardium cordatum (Pennant, 1777)

The sea potato is a large, heart-shaped sea urchin. It is sometimes referred to as a heart urchin. You often see pieces of its bare and very breakable skeleton on the beach. A live sea potato has lots of spines which are flattened across its body. Its spines are shorter than by sea urchins and look more like hair than spines. Actually, it looks a lot like a hairy potato.

This Heart Urchin burrows in sand using special spines to construct and maintain a funnel in the sand to enable oxygenated water to circulate over its body while it is buried. It is possibly the world's most widely-distributed heart urchin. They feed on organic matter in the sediment.

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What habitats does Echinocardium cordatum live in?

Sand areas, sometimes in shallow waters, to depth of 230m

What is the distribution of Echinocardium cordatum?

Cosmopolitan (World Oceans)

How big does Echinocardium cordatum grow?

Test diameter up to 6 cm

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Provided by The Atlas of Living Australia
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Disclaimer: A lot of work goes into trying to identify and ensure accurate identifications are made and that the listed Descriptions, Sizes, Habitats and Distribution information is as accurate and valid as possible. Unfortunately, information in this arena is ever changing and as such no guarantee can be offered that it is correct or currently valid as a result the information is provided as a guide, and it is always suggested that you do a little research to ensure you have the latest and most accurate information. View the reference's or bibliography I welcome any feedback and comments on the information provided.

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