Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | CoL | ITIS | WoRMS

Holothuroidea | Holothuriida | Holothuriidae

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Reef-associated; depth range 0 - 30 m (Ref. 122). Tropical

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions

Indo-Pacific, excluding the Persian Gulf and Hawaii.

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: L_m ? range ? - ? cm Max length : 45.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 122); common length : 35.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 122); max. published weight: 1.3 kg (Ref. 122)

Short description Morphology

Mean live weight 700 to 1,300 g; body-wall thickness 0.4 cm. Body sub cylindrical, arched dorsally (bivium) and slightly flattened ventrally (trivium). White conical papillae sparsely distributed on bivium; podia on trivium long and large, their calcareous disc around 240 micrometer in diameter. Mouth ventral, surrounded by 25 large, black brown dots and numerous small black spots; trivium grey, also with small black spots. Spicules on dorsal and ventral tegument with pseudo-tables and rosettes; pseudo-tables consisting of large base with a large hole, and a spiny spire; rosettes numerous, those in the tegument simple, but more complicated in the dorsal papillae and ventral podia; also present around anus are rods, small plates, and tables with very spiny crown; tentacles containing a few rods and large plates derived from rosettes.

Maximum depth from Ref. 85218. Not harvested for bêche-de-mer production (Ref. 122). A coral reef species rarely found in depths of more than 25 m; mostly found on reef slopes close to the coast (Ref. 122, 85218); abundant on corals mixed with calcareous red algae. Population densities generally less than 0.005 per square meter (Ref. 122). In times of considerable irritation, this animal ejects Cuvierian tubules (Ref. 85218). Feeds on the surface of coral colonies and sponges (Ref. 101700).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Members of the class Holothuroidea are gonochoric and have only one gonad. Spawning and fertilization are both external and some exhibit brooding. Life cycle: Embryos develop into planktotrophic larvae (auricularia) then into doliolaria (barrel-shaped stage) which later metamorphose into juvenile sea cucumbers.

Main reference References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Conand, C. 1998. (Ref. 122)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 18 May 2010

CITES status (Ref. 108899)

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

Harmless

Human uses

Fisheries: of no interest
| FishSource |

Tools

E-book | Field guide

More information

Countries
FAO areas
Ecosystems
Occurrences
Introductions
Stocks
Ecology
Diet
Food items

Common names
Synonyms
Predators
Reproduction
Maturity
Spawning
Fecundity
Eggs
Egg development

Age/Size
Growth
Length-weight
Length-length
Morphology
Larvae
Abundance

References
Mass conversion

Collaborators
Pictures

Internet sources

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 115969): 26.9 - 29.3, mean 28.6 (based on 2892 cells).

Vulnerability (Ref. 71543): Low to moderate vulnerability (35 of 100).

Price category (Ref. 80766): Unknown.

Pearsonothuria graeffei (Semper, 1868)