Instructions
Indentifying Sea Cucumbers
There are three common types of sea cucumbers---the warty sea cucumber, the California sea cucumber, and the white star sea cucumber. Warty sea cucumbers are brown with black warts all over their bodies and grow up to 10 inches in length. The California sea cucumber is reddish brown and covered with cone-like projections and grows up to 16 inches in length. The white star sea cucumber is light orange to white with long, non-retractable spines and is usually no more than 4 inches long.
Notice their shape, color and size. They are generally sausage-shaped and their skin is covered with bumps or spines.
Check their mode of locomotion. Sea cucumbers have hundreds of small suction-cup feet they use to crawl across the floor. Notice the size and number of feet.
Check for tube feet (similar to tentacles) surrounding their mouths. Notice color, shape and number. These are used for feeding on algae, minute aquatic animals or waste. When in use, they may look like they are simply filtering sand.
Notice their method of defense. When sea cucumbers are threatened, they often discharge sticky threads to ensnare their enemies. In extreme cases, they can excrete internal organs through the anus in order to distract approaching enemies.
How to Identify a Sea Cucumber
Sea cucumbers are echinoderms, in the same family as starfish and sea urchins. They live on the ocean floor, in deep or shallow waters, and often bury their bodies beneath sand. There are 1,250 known species of sea cucumbers in an infinite variety of shapes, sizes and colors. Identification of species almost always will take a trip to the reference library or online database, but there are a few common varieties that are easily distinguishable.