Eucidaris thouarsii, the slate pencil urchin (named after slate pencil), is a species of cidaroid sea urchins that inhabits littoral regions of the East Pacific Ocean.
Distribution and habitat
Eucidaris thouarsii is found in the East Pacific at depths of , ranging from Baja California to Panama, as well as Cocos Island, Clipperton Island and the Galápagos Islands.Glynn, Wellington, and Birkeland (1979). Coral reef growth in the Galapagos: limitation by sea urchins. Science. 203(4375): 47-49.Natural History Museum: Eucidaris thouarsii. The Echinoid Directory. Retrieved 11 September 2014.Reyes-Bonilla, and Calderon-Aguilera (2002). Population Density, Distribution and Consumption Rates of Three Corallivores at Cabo Pulmo Reef, Gulf of California, Mexico. Marine Ecology 20(3-4). The Galápagos, Clipperton and Cocos populations are now often recognized as a separate species, E. galapagensis, instead of a subspecies of E. thouarsii.Lessios, Kessing, Robertson, and Paulay (1999). Phylogeography of the pantropical sea urchin Eucidaris in relation to land barriers and ocean currents. Evolution 53: 806-817.
Diet Like all urchins these are primarily herbivores, but feed on a wide range of invertebrates. This species has a high nutrient absorption efficiency when it comes to the coral Pocillopora damicornis, but would require a large intake to make nutrient requirements. Due to its high intake of coral, it reduces reef growth.
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