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Sea cucumber Wikipedia

Taxobox_begin | color = pink | name = Sea Cucumbers
Taxobox_image | image = Image:Sea_cucumber.jpg|200px|Sea Cucumber | caption = A Sea Cucumber
Taxobox_begin_placement | color = pink
Taxobox_regnum_entry | taxon = Animalia
Taxobox_phylum_entry | taxon = Echinodermata
Taxobox_classis_entry | taxon = Holothuroidea
Taxobox_end_placement
Taxobox_section_subdivision | color = pink | plural_taxon = Order (biology)|Orders
Subclass Apodacea<br/>
&nbsp;Apodida<br/>
&nbsp;Molpadiida<br/>
<br/>
Subclass Aspidochirotacea<br/>
&nbsp;Aspidochirotida<br/>
&nbsp;Elasipodida<br/>
<br/>
Subclass Dendrochirotacea<br/>
&nbsp;Dactylochirotida<br/>
&nbsp;Dendrochirotida
Taxobox_end
The sea cucumber is an echinoderm of the class (biology)|class Holothuroidea, with an elongated body and leathery skin. Mostly found on the sea floor. It is so named because of its cucumber-like shape.
Like all echinoderms, sea cucumbers have an endoskeleton just below the skin.

Sea cucumbers are generally scavengers, feeding on debris in the benthic layer. Their diet (nutrition)|diet consist of plankton and other organic matter found in the sea. One way they might get a supply of food is to position themselves in a current where they can catch food that flow by with their tentacles when they open. Another way is to sift through the bottom sediments using their tentacles. They can be found in great numbers beneath fish farms.

They have the peculiar adaptation of expelling first sticky threads, perhaps to wiktionary:incapacitate|incapacitate predators, and then their internal organs when startled by a potential predator. These organs can then be regrown.

Sea cucumbers reproduce by releasing sperm and ova into the ocean water. Depending on conditions, one organism can produce thousands of gametes.

Surprising as it may seem, sea cucumbers have inspired musical composition: in the first of his Embryons dess??ch??s Erik Satie presents the "(desiccated embryo) of a Holothuroidean" and inserts a description of the animal in the score:

Sea cucumbers have also inspired thousands of haiku in Japan, where they are called "namako." In haiku, they are usually called "sea slugs," for the sake of the sluggish metaphor, and there is a book with almost 1000 holothurian haiku translated from Japanese titled "Rise, Ye Sea Slugs!" by Robin D. Gill. According to the OED, the "sea slug" is a holothurian first, but biologists insist on using "sea slug" only for the nudibranch, a mollusc famous for its neat little brain. The sea-cucumber itself does not mind either way, for it is famous for having no brain whatsoever, not even the start of a ganglia. The Japanese scientist-author Motokawa Tatsuo of TIT describes the sea cucumber as the opposite of us humans: We have brains and are made of dumb material, while they, lacking brains boast smart material.

The sea cucumber's closest relatives (the echinoidea) get more attention from scientists, both as embryos and as fossils.

Sea cucumber is one of the most unique foodstuffs in Chinese cuisine. It is highly valued for its supposed medicinal properties. The flesh of the animal is "cleaned" in a process that takes several days. Trepang is often purchased dried, and rehydration|rehydrated before use. The product is used in Chinese stews and braised dishes due to its gelatine|gelatinous texture but is unappetising on its own. In Japanese cuisine, Konowata is made of cured sea cucumber entrails from which they extract, salt, and cure. It is considered a major delicacy.

Last Modified:   2005-11-07