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Synaptid
sea cucumbers
Family Synaptidae |
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Synaptids on a sponge
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Synaptid sea cucumbers are often mistaken for worms. Long and skinny,
they are often found entwined among sponges in the coral rubble area.
These sea cucumbers appear to be seasonally abundant.
Wormy: Synaptid sea cucumbers
are long and worm-like. In fact, among the longest sea cucumbers is
a synaptid, Synapta maculata, which can reach up to 3m long!
Synaptids have a thin body wall and are more delicate than other sea
cucumbers. Their bodies are also impregnated with spicules (tiny hard
spikes of calcium carbonate). These spicules are tiny and shaped like
anchors or wheels.
Sticky worms: Synaptid sea cucumbers
don't have tube feet. Instead, they may stick to things with their
hooked spicules which poke out of their soft bodies. This is why they
stick to our hands if we touch them. They have thin body walls and
are fragile, so we should not handle them.
Synaptid Food: Synaptids are deposit
feeders, gathering detritus from the surface with their sticky tentacles.
They are more active at night.
See
also ...
Echinoderms in general
Sea cucumbers in general
Links
Echinoderm
world records on the Vistual Echinoderms Newsletter on the Department
of Systematic Biology, Invertebrate Zoology, Smithsonian National
Museum of Natural History website: a brief fact sheet on Synapta
maculata with photos of it.
Spicules
by Mike Samworth on the Microscopy UK website: marvelous close-ups
of the spicules found inside synaptid sea cucumbers.
Other references
- Hendler,
Gordon, John E. Miller, David L. Pawson and Porter M. Kier, 1995.
Sea Stars, Sea Urchins, and Allies: Echinoderms of Florida
and the Caribbean. Smithsonian Institution Press. 390 pp.
- Schoppe,
S., 2000. Echinoderms of the Philippines. Times Edition,
Singapore. 144 pp.
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quick
facts
5-10cm, seasonally abundant in the coral rubble area.
Classification:
Order Apodida
Class Holothuroidea
Phylum Echinodermata |
