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Animals & Nature
sea cucumber
echinoderm
Also known as: Holothurioidea, Holothuroidea, holothuroid
sea cucumber
Category:
Animals & Nature
- Related Topics:
- seafood
- bêche-de-mer
- holothurian
- holothurin
- Echinozoa
sea cucumber, (class Holothuroidea), any of 1,200 species of marine invertebrates that constitute a class within the phylum Echinodermata. The soft cylindrical body, 2 to 200 cm (about 0.75 inch to 6.5 feet) long and 1 to 20 cm (0.4–8 inches) thick, is usually a dull, dark colour and often warty, thus resembling a cucumber. The internal skeleton is reduced to numerous distinctively shaped, tiny calcareous structures (ossicles) in the skin. Most species have five rows of tube feet extending from mouth to anus. The anal opening is used for both respiration and discharging wastes. The 10 or more retractile ...(100 of 465 words)