The conspicuous sea cucumber is a bottom feeder
The conspicuous sea cucumber is a particularly weird looking sea cucumber. It can be found in abundance in the waters of Kaneohe Bay off the coast of Oahu, Hawai’i. Their local abundance is noted by a rarity throughout the rest of the Hawaiian Islands. They can also be found in New Caledonia, Guam, East Africa, and the Indo-Pacific region in general. When found they are typically on the sea floor. They have tiny embedded hooks throughout their bodies that allow them to cling to anything they come into contact with. This makes them particularly susceptible to injury when handled. Do not try to pick one of these up while out in the ocean.
The scientific name for this sea cucumber is Opheodesoma spectabilis. The Opheodesoma genus of sea cucumbers is commonly known as the synaptid sea cucumbers. They lack tube feet, tentacle ampullae, retractor muscles, respiratory trees, and Cuvierian tubules. The conspicuous sea cucumber is typically bright red or a chocolate brown color below the water. If above the water, they are a shade of grey. The conspicuous sea cucumber is a bottom feeder. Its diet consists primarily of dead plant and animal particles. In this photo you can see its tentacles that will comb through the materials of the sea floor looking for food. They can grow to be three feet in length.
This photo was taken during a kayak trip in Kaneohe Bay. Jill and I were out for a day on the calm waters in the bay. We found a nice reef to anchor the kayak in the sand to get out and snorkel.
As soon as we hopped out of the boat, we were greeted by one of these surprising looking creatures. I had no idea what this was. It wasn’t until we got back home that I was able to look up what we were seeing underwater. As we kicked around the reef, there were dozens of these slinky looking animals stretched out and feeding on the sea floor.
As we kicked around the reef, there were dozens of these slinky looking animals stretched out!
Did you know?
- Sea cucumbers have an endoskeleton that is made of calcified structures.
- Sea cucumbers are named after the cucumber plant because of the resemblance to the fruit.
- Conspicuous sea cucumbers are one of ten species in the genus Opheodesoma.
- Synaptid sea cucumbers, like the conspicuous sea cucumber, have hooks that help them to stay attached to the sea floor that are called spicules.
0 Comments