User:Jason Marks/sandbox

Asthenosoma varium is a sea urchin (an echinoderm, a member of the phylum that also includes star fish ). Growing up to 22 cm (9 in.) in diameter, it lives on sand and rubble sea bottoms in the Indo-Pacific, from the Red Sea to Australia and Southern Japan. Its venom tipped spines, with distinctive globular swellings below the tip, can inflict a painful sting if handled; the pain lasts as long as several hours. With its reddish color, this has given it the common name Fire Urchin. It plays host to the commensal shrimp Periclemenes colemani and the zebra crab, Zebrida adamsii.