Contracted mauve sea cucumber found under a boulder. Old Woman's River, Eastern Cape (2021) - iNaturalist Body tough. Upper surface mauve-black, becoming pale grey on the flattened underside. Tubefeet strongly suctorial and restricted to five regular bands, each consisting of a double row. Ten irregularly-branched tentacles. A filter-feeder which forms dense beds on shallow reefs… Continue reading Mauve sea cucumber (Pentacta doliolum)
Tag: cucumber
Horseshoe sea cucumber (Roweia frauenfeldii)
Dug out horseshoe sea cucumber, with its U-shape, dark body, covered with shell bits and sediments. Doringbaai, Western Cape (2020) - iNaturalist Two subspecies are present in South Africa : Roweia frauenfeldii subsp. frauenfeldii on the West and South coasts, and R. frauenfeldii subsp. webbi on the East Coast. Body arched into a typical U-shape,… Continue reading Horseshoe sea cucumber (Roweia frauenfeldii)
Red-chested sea cucumber (Hemiocnus insolens)
Subtidal sea cucumber deploying its tentacles, with details of the tube feet. Fishhoek, Western Cape (2020) - iNaturalist Previously known as Cucumaria insolens, Trachythyone insolens or Pseudocnella insolens. Colour diagnostic. Intertidal specimens may be dark above with a red 'chest', but subtidal ones are uniformly bright red. Tube feet scattered dorsally, but in three bands… Continue reading Red-chested sea cucumber (Hemiocnus insolens)
