Page 314 - (DK) Ocean - The Definitive Visual Guide

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CLASS HOLOTHUROIDEA
Prickly Redfish

Thelenota ananas
LENGTH Up to 28 in
(70 cm)
DEPTH 16–100 ft (5–30 m)
body make it an
HABITAT Sandy areas of
coral reefs unattractive proposition to
potential predators. However,
DISTRIBUTION Tropical waters of Indian Ocean and its appearance does not deter
western Pacific humans, and prickly redfish fetches by reef walking at low tide or by sea bed in search of detritus to eat.
high prices in parts of eastern Asia, breath-hold diving. Other predators When spawning, prickly redfish
This massive sea cucumber looks like where it is considered a delicacy. As a include various fish and crustaceans. gather together and rear up, then
an animated rug as it crawls slowly result, it is now endangered. Large The flat underside of the prickly release eggs or sperm into the water
over the sea bed. The large, star-shaped specimens reach up to 11 lb (5 kg) in redfish is covered with orange tube from small pores near the head end
papillae, called caruncles, that cover its weight and are traditionally collected feet, which it uses to crawl over the of the body.

CLASS HOLOTHUROIDEA CLASS HOLOTHUROIDEA CLASS HOLOTHUROIDEA
Sea Cucumber Edible Sea Sea Apple
Cucumber
Bohadschia graffei Pseudocolochirus violaceus
LENGTH LENGTH
Holothuria edulis
Up to 12 in (30 cm) Up to 4 in (10 cm)
LENGTH
DEPTH DEPTH
15–165 ft (5–50 m) Up to 14 in (35 cm) 0–100 ft (0–30 m)
DEPTH
HABITAT HABITAT
Coral reefs 15–100 ft (5–30 m) Rocks and reefs
HABITAT
DISTRIBUTION Tropical waters of Indian Ocean, Red DISTRIBUTION Tropical waters of Indo-Pacific region
Sea, western Pacific Sand, rock, coral reefs
DISTRIBUTION Tropical waters of Indian and Pacific The sea apple is one of the most
oceans
colorful of all sea cucumbers and is several species. The sea apple uses its
widely collected for use in marine tube feet to attach itself to rocks then
As its name suggests, this is an edible aquariums. It has a red and purple extends its branched tentacles into the
species of sea cucumber, although it body and yellow tentacles. The species water to trap organic particles. From
is not considered as good eating as in the genus Pseudocolochirus are often time to time, each tentacle is pushed
others, such as the prickly redfish hard to distinguish and for this reason into the mouth and the food it has
(above). It has a soft body, peppered the distribution map may include trapped is wiped off.
with tiny warts, and is colored black
on its back and pinkish red to beige
underneath. Like many other large sea CLASS HOLOTHUROIDEA unable to digest leaves its body as fecal
cucumbers, it is sometimes host to casts, which may then be eaten again
small pearlfish (family Carapidae) that Deep-sea Cucumber by other sea cucumbers. Like many
live inside its body cavity. deep-sea animals, this sea cucumber is
The juveniles of this sea cucumber Laetmogone violacea almost colorless but glows all over
look completely different from the LENGTH Not recorded with bioluminescent light; exactly
adult (shown here). They are white DEPTH To at least 8,000 ft how the animal uses this light is not
with black lines and protruding yellow (2,500 m) yet known. Some deep-sea starfish are
papillae, closely resembling sea slugs HABITAT Soft known to light up when approached
from the genus Phyllidia. These slugs sediments by a predator, which may scare it
are distasteful to fish, so this mimicry away. It may be that the deep-sea
protects the young sea cucumbers. DISTRIBUTION Deep, cold waters of Atlantic, Indian, cucumber uses its bioluminescence
Bohadschia graeffei feeds by scooping and Pacific oceans in the same way.
sand and mud into its mouth using In the deep ocean, sea cucumbers are
OCEAN LIFE in the sediment is digested, while the all over the world. Laetmogone violacea
large black tentacles, which are
modified tube feet. Organic material
one of the dominant sea-floor groups
is one of a large number of species
remainder passes through the gut and
is deposited outside, looking like a
that crawl over the soft, muddy ocean
bottom eating organic detritus. Its
string of sausages. In areas where sea
peglike “legs” may help to keep it
cucumbers are common, much of the
surface sediment is vacuumed up and
from sinking too far into the mud.
Ingested mud that the cucumber is
cleaned several times a year in this way.