What is "toxopneustes"

Toxopneustes is a genus of sea urchins from the tropical Indo-Pacific. It contains four species. They are known to possess medically significant venom to humans on their pedicellariae (tiny claw-like structures). They are sometimes collectively known as flower urchins, after the most widespread and most commonly encountered species in the genus, the flower urchin ( Toxopneustes pileolus). Species included in the genus are the following:

• Toxopneustes elegans Döderlein, 1885

Restricted to waters around Japan. Can be distinguished by the presence of a distinctive dark stripe just below the tips of their spines.

• Toxopneustes maculatus (Lamarck, 1816) -

Very rare species found in the Indo-West Pacific. Known only from specimens from Réunion, Christmas Island, and the Palmyra Atoll. Can be distinguished by bright violet coloration on the bottom and in a band around the middle of their tests.

• Toxopneustes pileolus (Lamarck, 1816)

Common and widespread in the Indo-West Pacific, from East Africa to the Cook Islands. Can be distinguished by variegated red, grey, green, or purple coloration of their tests.

• Toxopneustes roseus (A. Agassiz, 1863)

Restricted to the East Pacific, along the coasts of California, Mexico, Central America, and part of South America (including the Galapagos Islands). Can be distinguished by the uniform coloration of their tests of pink, brown, or purple.