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Sea cucumbers are echinoderms from the class Holothuroidea (/ ˌ h ɒ l ə ˌ θj ʊəˈr ɔɪ d i ə, ˌ h oʊ-/ HOL-ə-thure-OY-dee-ə, HOHL-). They are marine animals with a leathery skin and an elongated body containing a single, branched gonad. They are found on the sea floor worldwide.
Sea cucumbers have a relatively simple internal anatomy, consisting of three main sections: digestive, respiratory and reproductive, according to the book "Marine Benthic Fauna of Chilean ...
Average Life Span In The Wild: 5 to 10 years. Size: 0.75 inches to 10 feet. Size relative to a 6-ft human: What is a sea cucumber? Sea cucumbers might look like the lumpy cylindrical...
Yes, you read that right. Sea cucumbers breathe through a respiratory tree that is connected to their anus. The respiratory tree lies inside the body on either side of the intestine and connects to the cloaca. The sea cucumber breathes by drawing oxygenated water in through the anus.
A number of sea cucumber species exude a toxin that is lethal to small animals but not to humans; South Sea islanders place sea cucumber juices in water to kill or stupefy fish. Sea cucumbers are found in all oceans, mostly in shallow water but sometimes at depths of many thousands of metres.
Sea cucumbers are omnivores, meaning that they eat both plant and animal material, depending on what is available. New research shows that these animals can also benefit from a diet of seagrass and seagrass sediment, although sea cucumbers will not necessarily seek out seagrass in the wild.
Where do sea cucumbers live? From shallow coastal waters to the deep sea, these animals live basically anywhere there’s ocean. While most stick to crawling along the seafloor, some deep-sea cucumbers—like Enypniastes eximia, commonly known as the “headless chicken monster”—can swim.
A sea cucumber’s daily life is about as boring as its vegetable namesakes, but it’s also important to ocean ecosystems. As they scoot around the seafloor, eating and pooping, sea cucumbers help distribute nutrients and remove excess organic matter from the sediment and water.
Sea cucumbers are found in virtually all marine environments throughout the world, from shallow to deep-sea environments. Sea cucumbers are benthic, meaning they live on the ocean floor. However, their larvae are planktonic, meaning they float in the ocean with the currents.
Sea cucumbers are part of the ocean’s natural recycling system. They break waste substances down to be reused, in a similar way to worms on land. ‘Sea cucumbers will suck up a whole load of sediment, absorb any nutrients out of that and excrete the rest,’ explains Hugh.