Holothuria mexicana
| Holothuria mexicana | |
|---|---|
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Echinodermata |
| Class: | Holothuroidea |
| Order: | Aspidochirotida |
| Family: | Holothuriidae |
| Genus: | Holothuria |
| Species: | H. mexicana |
| Binomial name | |
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Holothuria mexicana (Ludwig Diels, 1875) |
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Holothuria mexicana, also known as the donkey dung sea cucumber is commonly found in the Caribbean and the Azores. It is a commercially important aspidochirote (sediment feeding) sea cucumber that can reach a total length of 50 cm (20 in).
This sea cucumber is transversely wrinkled and reaches 50 cm (20 in) in total length. It has a top surface that is dull brown or grey with occasional warts. The bottom surface is reddish, orange or pale and is uniformly covered in tube feet. Populations are unimodal and have a 1:1 male to female sex ratio.
This species is found throughout the Caribbean and reaches southern Brazil.
It is a shallow or demersal water species most commonly found between 2 m (6 ft 7 in) to 10 m (33 ft) depth and up to 20 m (66 ft) depth. It inhabits sandy bottoms with calm waters including seagrass beds, offshore reefs or mangroves.
Holothuria mexicana feeds on sediments at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, specifically consuming organic matter such as algae, tiny aquatic organisms and waste materials. Metals, such as copper, nickel, lead and zinc associated with coastal pollution, can bioaccumulate within H. mexicana tissues. Therefore, this species has been suggested as a biological indicator for these metals.
Holothuria mexicana is a food source for people, and is actively caught for consumption off the shores of Nicaragua, Panama and Venezuela.
Natural parasites on H. mexicana are bacteria, protozoans and metazoans. The metazoans that commonly feed on these sea cucumbers are turbellarians, gastropods, copepods, crabs and fishes.
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Wikipedia