Sea Cucumbers
About Sea Cucumbers:
- Sea cucumbers are part of a larger animal group called echinoderms, which also contains starfish and sea urchins.
- Their body shape is similar to a cucumber, but they have small tentacle-like tube feet that are used for locomotion and feeding.
- One way that sea cucumbers can confuse or harm predators is by propelling their own toxic internal organs from their bodies in the direction of an attacker.
- The organs grow back, and it may save them from being eaten.
- Depending on the species, sea cucumbers normally vary in size from less than an inch (2.5 centimeters) to over six feet (1.8 meters).
- Sea cucumbers are scavengers that feed on small food items in the benthic zone (seafloor), as well as plankton floating in the water column.
- Algae, aquatic invertebrates, and waste particles make up their diet.
- 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 exhibit sexual and asexual reproduction.
- Unlike most terrestrial animals, sea cucumber eggs undergo external fertilization females release eggs into the water that are fertilized when they come into contact with sperm that males have released.
- IUCN Red List:Brown Sea Cucumber –Endangered, Blackspotted Sea Cucumber- Least Concern.
- Wildlife Protection Act, 1972:Schedule I.
Syllabus: Prelims
