A distinctive sea cucumber to about 45 cm (18 in), cream to pale gray with dark speckling, and unmistakable when feeding: around twenty-four black tentacles open like small flowers at the mouth and dab methodically at the surface in front of it. Unlike most of the family it works in daylight, and it feeds on hard bottom rather than sand, wiping the algal film off coral rock.
The young are a separate spectacle. Juveniles are boldly patterned in white with black and yellow markings, closely resembling the toxic nudibranchs of the genus Phyllidia that crawl the same reefs - a mimicry that buys a soft, slow-moving animal some protection until it is large enough to be a poor mouthful. The resemblance fades as the animal grows and the adult coloring takes over. It is common on reef along this coast, usually met draped across coral rubble in the open, and is one of the few sea cucumbers a daytime diver can reliably expect to see actually feeding rather than lying inert.
- about 24 black flower-like tentacles
- cream to gray body with dark speckling
- feeds openly in daylight on hard bottom
- juveniles white with black and yellow bands
Why it's threatened
This species is harvested in part of its range. However, the affect of this action on the population of this species is unknown. There are no other known threats occurring to this species.
Threat classification from the IUCN Red List.
