Strongylocentrotus purpuratus

Strongylocentrotus purpuratus is a species of sea urchin in the family Strongylocentrotidae commonly known as the purple sea urchin. It lives along the eastern edge of the Pacific Ocean extending from Ensenada, Mexico, to British Columbia, Canada. This sea urchin species is deep purple in color, and lives in lower inter-tidal and nearshore sub-tidal communities. Its eggs are orange when secreted in water. January, February, and March function as the typical active reproductive months for the species. Sexual maturity is reached around two years. It normally grows to a diameter of about 10 cm (4 inches), consisting of an exoskeleton called a test. They may live as long as 70 years.

Strongylocentrotus purpuratus is used as a model organism and its genome was the first echinoderm genome to be sequenced.