Local Dive Thailand now owned and operated by Aussie Divers Phuket

Devil In Disguise – The Most Toxic Sea urchin

Devil In Disguise – The Most Toxic Sea urchin

The Most Toxic Sea Urchin Resides In Thai Waters

The most toxic sea urchin is not the fire urchin as you might think. That would make sense, a name that would stop anybody with a functional brain from touching it. So what have scientists named the most toxic urchin? They’ve gone for flower urchin – thanks. There’s ample space for another more suitable word. Hell, agony or stinging flower urchin would have all given us a hint to stay well away.

I’m Alright Jack

The scientists have certainly looked after themselves. The scientific name (toxopneustes) means toxic foot so anybody in the scientific community or who is verse in latin will know to give it a wide berth. It’s just the remaining 99.9% of the earths population who could get fooled by the cutesy name.

You can do it – scorpionfish, stingfish, waspfish, demon stinger and fire coral all let us know to avoid contact. I’m not saying every dangerous animal should have a deathly moniker, with most you can tell by just looking. You wouldn’t pat a saltwater crocodile on the head and not expect to lose a limb or four. Just help us out the common folk with the more unremarkable looking creatures. Anyway, the animal itself…

More Subterfuge

It’s a very beautiful urchin, covered in small colourful triangle and circular appendages. These are the ‘flowers’ from whence it gets its name. It does have spines but they’re not as prominent as on most urchins. Surprisingly the spines aren’t where it deals out the pain from. The small flower like appendages are what make it the most toxic sea urchin. Each one has a tiny hook that houses the venom. They’re strong enough to pierce human skin and can detach to give you a nice little memento.

mushroom shaped toxic flowers on the most toxic sea urchin

mushroom shaped toxic flowers on the most toxic sea urchin

How Toxic is It?

Well the good news is that there’s been no substantiated deaths although it has been a suspect in some drownings. The symptoms are said to include: dizzyness, paralysis of lips, tongue and eyelids, limb relaxation, respiration difficulty and severe pain. A recorded instance suggested that the symptoms receded over the course of an hour but facial paralysis remained for 6 hrs.

So it looks like the venom itself is not enough to finish you. However a combination of those symptoms could cause drowning for a snorkeler or diver.

Natural Velcro

The flower urchin covers itself with debris, why we’re not sure. It’s very unlikely that it’s defensive, the flower urchin is obviously very capable of dealing with threats. It uses the the small hooks like velcro to attach the debris which possibly protect it from sunlight.

the most toxic urchin covering behaviour

the most toxic urchin covering behaviour

How Common Are Toxic Flower Urchins

Not to sure around Phuket but definitely at Racha Yai and Richelieu Rock in the Surin Islands National Park. However the covering behaviour can make them very difficult to spot and there may be more than we think. Most will not be aware of how toxic this beautiful little urchin is so it’s probably pretty much ignored.

If I get Stung By A Toxic Flower Urchin

First off you need to get to the surface as quickly as safely possible. It’s a protein based venom so the general first aid recommendation is to immerse the affected area in water as hot as you can tolerate without scalding. Remove any of the stings and seek professional medical attention.

Take a Phuket diving daytrip with Local Dive Thailand to find your devil in disguise.

Contact Us Now

Posted in Rare & Peculiar Critters on .

Popular Services

scuba diving for kids phuket

PADI Phuket Scuba Diving Courses For Children

Every parent scuba diver wants to share their wonderful diving experiences with their children, there's many options in Phuket from just a swimming pool experience to full PADI courses that apart from a few extra safety rules exactly are the same as the adult course. Kids have very little fear of water and will see the programmes as a lot of fun, it will fill them with confidence for when they're old enough to complete the PADI Open Water cou [...]

Find Out More
Thailand Liveaboard MV Pawara At The Similan Islands

MV Pawara

MV Pawara is one of the most popular liveaboard boats cruising the Similan and Surin Island National Parks. The spacious and comfortable saloon, sundeck and shaded dining area ensure that guests always have plenty of space to relax between dives. The air-conditioned saloon has free wi-fi, TV/DVD player and an extensive library to help you log the names of all the species you can encounter on the fabulous dive sites such as Richelieu Rock, [...]

Find Out More

Daily Schedules

M/V Kepsub Schedule

Jobs @ Local Dive Thailand

Local Dive Thailand is one of Phuket's fatest growing & most vibrant scuba diving operations, we are always looking for quality staff to join us, so feel free to have a look at our jobs listing page.

Job Listings

Contact LDT

Local Guides, Local Knowledge, Local Experiences

Don't trust your diving to amateurs or freshly minted dive guides, dive with local experienced experts from Local Dive Thailand. Our Scuba Diving Phuket Tours will take you to see the rarest of the rare critters, you will be amazed by the macro life our guides can find, in the secret places only they know. To put it in perspective, if you were going to climb Mount Everest you would certainly hire a local sherpa to lead the way & keep you safe. Diving is similar because there is absolutely no substitute for local experience & local knowledge, Local Dive Thailand's guides are Phuket's Sherpa's of the Andaman Sea!

Learn More About Us

Scuba Diving Phuket, Phi Phi & Thailand

When talking about Scuba Diving in Phuket, you should believe the hype, many seasons we have had Whale Sharks grace us on our regular and easy to reach dive sites and on a good day you can add Sea Horses, Sea Moths, Snake Eels, Frog Fish & Octopus to what you can see on any given dive and so much more. If we are heading to Phi Phi Island for the day, you can possibly see Hawksbill Sea Turtles and Black Tip Reef Sharks, also don't forget the King Cruiser, 84 meters of beautiful wreck and the most amazing reef nursery for fish and nudibranch. Local Dive Thailand day trip tours to these locations are not to be missed when you are scuba diving Phuket, get in touch with us and book an 'awesome' day of diving.

Book Your Day Trip

Related News From Local Dive Thailand

See why we are Thailand's leading scuba diving Phuket tour provider, stay up to date & watch out for news & special liveaboard offers!

diving directly from liveaboards is now banned in the similan islands News & Updates

Diving From Liveaboards Banned In The Similan Islands

If you're not a fan of diving from dinghies then we have some bad news for you. Diving directly from your liveaboards has now been banned. It's a move that is supposed to protect corals and marine life, personally I've never seen a liveaboard in the Similan Islands National Park go near a reef. Liveaboards will have to keep their distance from the dive site or use official mooring lines. The other reason touted is safety. A diver unfortuna [...]

Read Full Story
Phi Phi Island National Park News & Updates

Phi Phi Islands National Park Fee And New Diving Rules

From 2015 the Phi Phi Islands National Park jumped fee to THB 400 for all tourists and an extra THB 200 for divers. For 2022 this has been reduced to a THB 200 entry fee and THB 200 for divers. At first fees were collected sporadically but now park officials have set up a floating pontoon where all boats have to report. They also have a speedboat so they can board boats who "forget" to report. We're not sure if this is a permanent reductio [...]

Read Full Story
sea moth the size of a fingernail tg5 Equipment We Like

Weefine Ringlight 3000 Review & Samples

The original Weefine Ringlight was a simple affair, more of a good idea rather than a good product but the upgrades on the latest version have made it a very useful tool indeed. Brightness has been beefed up and strobe, red light and UV light features all make it a great addition to the macro photographers armoury. Along with the ring light itself you'll find a couple of spare o rings a battery charger and a rechargeable 26650 battery. [...]

Read Full Story

Local Dive Thailand Office In Phuket


Find Us On Google Maps