Sea Cucumbers: Holothuroidea - Physical Characteristics, Behavior And Reproduction, Sea Cucumbers And People, Candy Cane Sea Cucumber (thelenota Rubralineata): Species Accounts - GEOGRAPHIC RANGE, HABITAT, DIET, CONSERVATION STATUS
GEOGRAPHIC RANGE
Sea cucumbers live all over the world.
HABITAT
Sea cucumbers live in all sea habitats, ranging from areas exposed at low tide to the bottom of the deepest part of the ocean. Some species live on wave-hammered reef crests and rocky shorelines. Many species live on hard bottoms. Others burrow in sand or mud. Some species swim miles above the sea floor.
DIET
Sea cucumbers eat algae, plankton, bacteria, and waste particles. Algae (AL-jee) are plantlike growths that live in water and have no true roots, stems, or leaves. Plankton is microscopic plants and animals drifting in water.
CONSERVATION STATUS
Sea cucumbers are not considered threatened or endangered.
Additional Topics
Sea cucumbers are soft-bodied sea animals that have a circle of five to twenty tentacles around the mouth. Some sea cucumbers have a thick, muscular body wall, but others are clear and jellylike. Most sea cucumbers look like thick worms or slugs, but some are U-shaped. Depending on the species, the tentacles are simple, fingerlike, featherlike, or flat and shovel- or shieldlike. The large tube fee…
Most sea cucumbers are slow-moving animals. Some rear up and extend their front ends into the water when releasing eggs and sperm. Some twist violently or inflate when they meet a predator. Some deep-sea species can swim. Bottom dwellers wander in an apparently random way as they feed. Many tropical species of sea cucumbers are active at night, staying in crevices or under the sand during the day.…
People in several Asian and Pacific Island countries eat sea cucumbers in a dish called trepang. Sea cucumbers also are used in aquariums. The toxins in sea cucumber skin are being studied for use as drugs. …
Physical characteristics: Candy cane sea cucumbers are colorful and large, as long as 20 inches (51 centimeters). The entire body is covered with pointed tube feet. Candy cane sea cucumbers have a bright red pattern of stripes on a white background and have about twenty dull red shield-shaped tentacles. Geographic range: Candy cane sea cucumbers live in the southwestern part of the Pacific Ocean. …
Physical characteristics: Sea apples are colorful sea cucumbers about 7 inches (18 centimeters) long. They usually are purple. Three rows of tube feet run along the bottom side of the animal. The top side has two rows of tube feet as well as small scattered tube feet. The body is curved so that the mouth and anus point upward. The ten tentacles are bushy purple to red and have white tips. The piec…
Physical characteristics: Sea pigs are clear sea cucumbers 2 to 4 inches (5 to 10 centimeters) long. They have ten tentacles and a few large tube feet. The tube feet on the top side of sea pigs are two widely spaced antennalike pairs. The other tube feet are arranged in a row around the edge of the bottom side of the animal. The pieces of the body wall skeleton are smooth to spiny rods and smaller…
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