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sea
cucumbers text index
| photo index
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| Phylum Echinodermata > Class Holothuroidea |
| Sea
apple sea cucumber Pseudocolochirus violaceus/axiologus Family Cucumariidae updated Dec 08 Where seen? This amazing technicolour sea cucumber is sometimes seen on our undisturbed Northern shores, attached to coral rubble. Features: 10-20cm long. Body long or spherical with five rows of yellow tube feet, but the two rows on the upper side of the body are usually less distinct. It is usually red on the upperside, shading to lilac and white to the underside. The mouth is ringed with blue. During low tide, it retracts its colourful feeding tentacles. When relaxed, the normal shape is short and sausage-like as with most other sea cucumbers. When stressed, however, it may inflate itself into a large round ball. Human uses: These beautiful sea cucumbers unfortunately are harvested for the aquarium trade. Ironically, they do not make good aquarium specimens as they are often toxic to their tank mates. Status and threats: This sea cucumber is listed as 'Vulnerable' on the Red List of threatened animals of Singapore. It is threatened by land reclamation and over-collection by beach combers. Like other fish and creatures that are harvested from the wild, most die before they can reach the retailers. Without professional care, most die soon after they are sold. Those that do survive are unlikely to breed. |
 Changi, May 10  Colourful feeding tentacles. |
 Changi, May 10 |
 Underside. Changi, May 10 |
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 Inflated. Chek Jawa, May 02 |
 Backside. |
 Yellow tube feet. |
 Chek Jawa, Jun 02 |
 Beting Bronok, Jul 05 |
 Beting Bronok, Jun 03 |
Sea apple sea cucumbers on Singapore shores
 Pulau Sekudu, Dec 03  |
 Chek Jawa, May 02  |
 Changi, Jun 08  |
 Beting Bronok, Feb 06 |
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 Beting Bronok, Jun 06 |
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 Pulau Sekudu, Jul 03 |
 Changi, Jul 11 |
 Changi, Jul 11 |
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