Biodiversity & Conservation

Spiny mudlark - Brissopsis lyrifera - General information

Brissopsis lyrifera

Image Eve Southward - Brissopsis lyrifera
Image copyright information

Distribution map

Brissopsis lyrifera recorded (dark blue bullet) and expected (light blue bullet) distribution in Britain and Ireland (see below)

Why do the maps differ?

Sightings Have you seen Brissopsis lyrifera?
If so please submit your record.

Brissopsis lyrifera is not listed under any importance categories.

General information

Key Icon Researched by: Georgina Budd Text page icon Refereed by: Dr Karin Hollertz

Taxonomy icon Taxonomy

Phylum Echinodermata Starfish, brittlestars, sea urchins & sea cucumbers
Class Echinoidea Sea urchins, heart urchins and sand dollars
Map icon Recorded distribution in Britain and Ireland Recorded off the west, north and east coasts of the British Isles, but not off the south coast. Common in deep water.
Habitat information icon Habitat information Brissopsis lyrifera lives buried in fine mud or muddy sands offshore and in shallower, stable near shore environments.
Text page icon Description A reddish-brown coloured heart urchin that is longer (7 cm) than wide. The 'test' (calcareous skeletal plates, joined together to form a complete shell) is covered in mobile spines, which are coarser and sparser in comparison with Echinocardium species. Particularly characteristic of Brissopsis lyrifera is a narrow band of ciliated dark spines which rings all five ambulacra petals on the upper surface. It is the only heart urchin likely to be found in muddy sediments.

This review can be cited as follows:

Georgina Budd 2004. Brissopsis lyrifera. Spiny mudlark. Marine Life Information Network: Biology and Sensitivity Key Information Sub-programme [on-line]. Plymouth: Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. [cited 26/05/2013]. Available from: <http://www.marlin.ac.uk/speciesfullreview.php?speciesID=2801>