WHATSTHATFISH
Sea stars & urchins

Sanctori Sea Cucumber

Holothuria (Platyperona) sanctori

Also known as: Provenance Sea Cucumber, Sea Gherkin, Variable Sea Cucumber, Holothuria sanctori

Adult
@JarJar · GR, Greece · April 20141 / 1
01

Overview

Found singly or in groups, during the day hiding in crevices, holes and under stones out foraging for food at night over coral and rocky reefs.
They feed nocturnally on detritus, invertebrates and zooplankton.

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.

02

How to identify

Body shape
spikes

Tap any trait to see other fish that share it.

03

Habitat & where to find it

  • Range · Red Sea, Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean, Black Sea
  • Country only · 1
LIVES IN

Found singly or in groups, during the day hiding in crevices, holes and under stones out foraging for food at night over coral and rocky reefs.

04

Adult photos 1

05

Discussion 2

Comments are checked by a moderator before they appear.

2 comments

  • Ziad· 17 Dec 2018

    Is sanctori in the Mediterranean sea edible?? Any information is useful.. Thank you

  • fishx6Top Contributor· 10 Jan 2019

    I think you need to google that one!

    Helpful
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FOR THE MARINE-BIOLOGY CURIOUS

Deep dive

Taxonomy

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumEchinodermata
  3. classHolothuroidea
  4. orderHolothuriida
  5. familyHolothuriidae
  6. genusHolothuria
  7. speciesHolothuria (Platyperona) sanctori Delle Chiaje, 1823

SourcesWoRMS

06

More in the family

Sea Cucumbers (Holothuriidae)