It is spherical or slightly cone-shaped, and the colour of the test is mainly pinkish, yellowish, or greenish-yellow, and banded with white and pale brown, giving it a segmented appearance.

The long primary spines are few in number and olive green with pale tips.

The much shorter secondary spines are yellowish green and are densely packed in several rows.

[2] The melon sea urchin is found in the Mediterranean Sea and the eastern Atlantic Ocean between the Azores and the Bay of Biscay, and occasionally as far north as Ireland and Cornwall.

[1][2] Echinus melo is mainly a herbivore, grazing on algae, but it also consumes small invertebrates.