Sea Cucumber
Sea cucumbers are the most unlikely looking of their Phylum,
with cylindrical bodies and no ’spiny-skin’ as ‘echino-derm’
suggests. They do however have five-point symmetry (among other
similarities). This symmetry actually occurs lengthwise, with
rows of tube feet on their underside which move them along.
| They
have an unusual defense mechanism where they can eject their
digestive system as a disgusting white sticky mess to deter
any predator, and can then re-grow it later. They are generally
detritus or suspension feeders, |
 |
with our most familiar sea cucumber Stichopus mollis
shovelling through detritus with its tentacles.
Did
you know?
If massaged, sea cucumbers can relax to a point where they are
almost liquid!
