Toxopneustes

Toxopneustes is a genus of sea urchins from the tropical Indo-Pacific. It contains four species. They are known to possess medically significant venom to humans on their pedicellariae (tiny claw-like structures). They are sometimes collectively known as flower urchins, after the most widespread and most commonly encountered species in the genus, the flower urchin (Toxopneustes pileolus). ==Species== Species included in the genus are the following: {| class="wikitable" |- ! Image !! Scientific name !! Description !! Distribution |- |120px ||Toxopneustes elegans Döderlein, 1885|| Can be distinguished by the presence of a distinctive dark stripe just below the tips of their spines. || Restricted to waters around Japan. |- |120px ||Toxopneustes maculatus (Lamarck, 1816) ||Can be distinguished by bright violet coloration on the bottom and in a band around the middle of their tests. ||Very rare species found in the Indo-West Pacific. Known only from specimens from Réunion, Christmas Island, and the Palmyra Atoll. |- |120px ||Toxopneustes pileolus (Lamarck, 1816)|| Can be distinguished by variegated red, grey, green, or purple coloration of their tests. ||Common and widespread in the Indo-West Pacific, from East Africa to the Cook Islands. |- |120px ||Toxopneustes roseus (A. Agassiz, 1863) ||Can be distinguished by the uniform coloration of their tests of pink, brown, or purple. ||Restricted to the East Pacific, along the coasts of California, Mexico, Central America, and part of South America (including the Galapagos Islands). |- |}

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