Fire Sea Urchin, Raja Ampat, Indonesia

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Part of the “Birds Head Seascape” in West Papua, Indonesia, Raja Ampat is an archipelago covering over 15400 square miles. It includes over 1,500 small islands, cays, and shoals surrounding the four main islands of Misool, Salawati, Batanta, and Waigeo. The underwater diversity of this area exceeds that of any other area sampled in the Coral Triangle. The area harbors 1,430 species of reef fish (42 species are only found in the Birds Head Seascape), nearly 700 species of molluscs, as well as 75% of all known coral species in the world. The fire sea urchin (Asthenosoma varium) seen in this picture lives on the ocean floor. Their venomous spines can inflict a painful sting.

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Size: 3801px × 2532px
Location: Raja Ampat, Indonesia
Photo credit: © Aaron Fink / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: ampat, asthenosoma, fire, indonesia, raja, sea, underwater, urchin, varium