The sea cucumber is an echinoderm of the class Holothuroidea, with an elongated body and leathery skin, which is found on the sea floor worldwide. 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 consists 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.

 

Photo Credit: Sea Cucumber, photography by Jacinta Richardson and Paul Fenwick. Photograph was taken in a lagoon near Lady Musgrave Island in the Great Barrier Reef, 28th December 2004. Approximate depth of 6 metres.