The Cape Sea Urchin or Pumpkin Shell
Parechinus angulosus, the Cape urchin, is a sea urchin in the family Parechinidae endemic to southern Africa.
They are famous among surfers and beach goers for their spines which regularly spike feet. The spines are most often purple, but can also be green, red, or cream. They occur in vast numbers on shallow reefs, where they graze on kelp and algal debris
When they die, the spines fall off and they become a shell collectors great find.
In 1994 in South Africa, the numbers of sea urchins declined dramatically, and so did the Perlemoen numbers, because there weren’t nearly as many sea urchin protecting the juvenile Perlemoen.
Numbers are back up again and almost any rocky outcrop or tidal pool will be littered with Sea Urchins.