Holothuria forskali

Forskals sea cucumber ( Holothuria forskali )

Forskals sea cucumber ( Holothuria forskali ) occurs in the Mediterranean and northeastern Atlantic from the coast of Portugal to Scotland. It is often very numerous and lives on mud grounds or hard floors and in seagrass beds.

Features

It is 15 to 40 inches long. Your body cross-section is almost round, the skin is thick, soft and sticky. It dissolves easily in tatters by the body. The basic color is brown. On the back there are numerous conical papillae, which have brown or black tips. Some are outlined in white. At the bottom it has three rows of tube feet, the end plates are white. Your mouth tentacles end in star-shaped slices.

Forskals sea cucumber feeding on organic particles and small animals of the meiofauna, which she receives with her ​​mouth tentacles from the ground. She has white Cuvier hoses that she ejects easily. It may also, for example to ward off the parasitic needle fish ( Carapus acus ) emit their intestinal tract, which is newly formed within a few weeks.