Holothuria (Holothuria) tubulosa

Description

Holothuria (Holothuria) tubulosa is a sea cucumber between 20 and 45 cm in length. Its cylindrical body has a diameter of about 6 cm. Its surface is covered by numerous dark long conical papillae. Along the ventral face, three lines of tube-feet are used for locomotion. The terminal tentacles are short and flattened. They bring into the mouth sediments from which the sea cucumber extracts the organic particles it feeds on. Non-assimilable elements such as sand, are rejected through the anus under the guise of strings of small muddy tubes. The colour varies from pale brown with sometimes purplish mottlings to reddish brown. Tubular sea cucumbers live on sandy bottoms among posidonia or on muddy rocks.

Distribution

Holothuria (Holothuria) tubulosa is found from surface to 100 m deep in the Mediterranean Sea, and the Atlanic Ocean up to the Bay of Biscay.

How to cite this page

Bay-Nouailhat A., September 2006, Description of Holothuria (Holothuria) tubulosa , [On line] https://european-marine-life.org/30/holothuria-(holothuria)-tubulosa.php, consulted on 2024 April 20.