Description
Also known as Black-banded Sea Cucumber, Brown-spotted Sea Cucumber, Creased Cucumber, Curry Fish, Elephant Fish, Elephant Sea Cucumber, Elephant Trunkfish Sea Cucumber, Elephant's Trunkfish, Sand Fish, Tripang.
Found on coarse rubble, sand, and in seagrass beds, over lagoons and reef slopes.
They feed on organic matter.
Length - 70cm
Depth - 0-25m
Widespread Indo-Pacific
Some sea cucumbers crawl around on the bottom slowly filtering sand through their tentacles to gather food, while others spread their tentacles above them to capture plankton. A number of sea cucumbers feed nocturnally while others feed by day.
There are sea cucumbers that hardly move while others are more active often perching on tall sponges to feed.
Sea cucumbers often attract hitch-hikers like shrimps and crabs that crawl over their skin, also pearlfish that enter via their anus.
As a means of defence sea cucumbers can expel their intestines or respiratory organs in the form of sticky threads, but these can quickly regenerate.
Juveniles often mimic sea slugs.
Some types of sea cucumbers are edible and considered a delicacy in the Far East countries. (edit)
Ref: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holothuria_fuscopunctata
1 comment
Posted by RucyWhere's the fish? Where's a photo of the "Elephant Fish?" - The WHOLE fish!