Sea Cucumber Facts

Sea cucumbers are echinoderms like sea urchins and starfish. However, unlike the starfish, they do not have arms. Sea cucumbers are usually found on the ocean floor and most of the 1,250 species share a cucumber shape. They are a common ocean sight and in some countries, they are a delicacy.

  1. Appearance

    • Sea cucumbers resemble a cucumber. The sea cucumber ranges in color from white to shades of brown. They are also covered in spines and or warts, with suctions on their underside that they use to move across the ocean floor. The mouth, located on one end of the sea cucumber, is lined with eight to 30 tube feet, which they use to grab their food. Their anus is on the opposite end, which they use to breathe and excrete digested food.

    Diet

    • Most sea cucumbers eat small organisms such as algae or plankton, but others eat sediment from the sea floor and waste from other animals.

    Habitat

    • Sea cucumbers are found everywhere in the ocean, no matter what the depth. They are, however, most often found near the ocean floor. The majority of sea cucumbers choose to live near reefs, rocks or seaweeds. Most choose to live in sea grass but some sea cucumbers live burrowed in the sand. Those cucumbers do not have tube feet and they live off the floor sediment.

    Defenses

    • On land and in the ocean, sea cucumbers are a sought-after food. Though they look defenseless, they are able to distract the predator by expelling their inner organs through their anus at the predator. They even have the ability to regenerate their organs once expelled. Some varieties of sea cucumbers have regenerative tubules that can be released and entangle a predator while the sea cucumber makes an escape.

    Reproduction

    • Though the sea cucumber can breed asexually, they usually are sexual breeders. Both mating processes do not require the cucumber to touch because they breed by releasing both eggs and sperm into the water. Sea cucumbers usually live in large groups so there are usually multiple cucumbers mating in this manner, the egg and sperm have to meet, which then create floating larvae that will eventually develop into an adult sea cucumber.