''Elpidia'' is a
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...
of deep-sea
sea cucumber
Sea cucumbers are echinoderms from the class Holothuroidea (). They are marine animals with a leathery skin and an elongated body containing a single, branched gonad. Sea cucumbers are found on the sea floor worldwide. The number of holothu ...
s. Members are characterised by their rod-shaped spicules which each have two pairs of obliquely-placed horizontal arms and two vertical apophyses.
[ There is a high degree of ]endemism
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found els ...
in this genus with different species occupying different deep sea basins or regions.
Species
The following species are recognised in the genus ''Elpidia'':[
*'']Elpidia adenensis
''Elpidia'' is a genus of deep-sea sea cucumbers. Members are characterised by their rod-shaped spicules which each have two pairs of obliquely-placed horizontal arms and two vertical apophyses. There is a high degree of endemism in this genus wi ...
'' Belyaev, 1971
*'' Elpidia antarctica'' Belyaev, 1971
*''Elpidia atakama
''Elpidia'' is a genus of deep-sea sea cucumbers. Members are characterised by their rod-shaped spicules which each have two pairs of obliquely-placed horizontal arms and two vertical apophyses. There is a high degree of endemism in this genus wi ...
'' Belyaev, 1971
*''Elpidia belyaevi
''Elpidia'' is a genus of deep-sea sea cucumbers. Members are characterised by their rod-shaped spicules which each have two pairs of obliquely-placed horizontal arms and two vertical apophyses. There is a high degree of endemism in this genus wi ...
'' Rogacheva, 2007
*'' Elpidia birsteini'' Belyaev, 1971
*''Elpidia chilensis
''Elpidia'' is a genus of deep-sea sea cucumbers. Members are characterised by their rod-shaped spicules which each have two pairs of obliquely-placed horizontal arms and two vertical apophyses. There is a high degree of endemism in this genus wi ...
'' Belyaev, 1971
*''Elpidia decapoda
''Elpidia'' is a genus of deep-sea sea cucumbers. Members are characterised by their rod-shaped spicules which each have two pairs of obliquely-placed horizontal arms and two vertical apophyses. There is a high degree of endemism in this genus wi ...
'' Belyaev, 1975
*''Elpidia echinata
''Elpidia'' is a genus of deep-sea sea cucumbers. Members are characterised by their rod-shaped spicules which each have two pairs of obliquely-placed horizontal arms and two vertical apophyses. There is a high degree of endemism in this genus wi ...
'' (R. Perrier, 1896)
*''Elpidia glacialis
''Elpidia glacialis'' is a species of sea cucumber in the family Elpidiidae. It is found at abyssal depths in the Arctic Ocean, the Barents Sea, the Kara Sea and the north Atlantic Ocean. It was first described in 1876 by the Swedish zoologist Jo ...
'' Théel, 1876
*''Elpidia gracilis
''Elpidia'' is a genus of deep-sea sea cucumbers. Members are characterised by their rod-shaped spicules which each have two pairs of obliquely-placed horizontal arms and two vertical apophyses. There is a high degree of endemism in this genus wi ...
'' Belyaev, 1975
*''Elpidia heckeri
''Elpidia'' is a genus of deep-sea sea cucumbers. Members are characterised by their rod-shaped spicules which each have two pairs of obliquely-placed horizontal arms and two vertical apophyses. There is a high degree of endemism in this genus wi ...
'' Baranova, 1989
*''Elpidia javanica
''Elpidia'' is a genus of deep-sea sea cucumbers. Members are characterised by their rod-shaped spicules which each have two pairs of obliquely-placed horizontal arms and two vertical apophyses. There is a high degree of endemism in this genus wi ...
'' Belyaev, 1971
*''Elpidia kermadecensis
''Elpidia'' is a genus of deep-sea sea cucumbers. Members are characterised by their rod-shaped spicules which each have two pairs of obliquely-placed horizontal arms and two vertical apophyses. There is a high degree of endemism in this genus wi ...
'' Hansen, 1956
*''Elpidia kurilensis
''Elpidia'' is a genus of deep-sea sea cucumbers. Members are characterised by their rod-shaped spicules which each have two pairs of obliquely-placed horizontal arms and two vertical apophyses. There is a high degree of endemism in this genus wi ...
'' Baranova & Belyaev in Belyaev, 1971
*''Elpidia lata
''Elpidia'' is a genus of deep-sea sea cucumbers. Members are characterised by their rod-shaped spicules which each have two pairs of obliquely-placed horizontal arms and two vertical apophyses. There is a high degree of endemism in this genus wi ...
'' Belyaev, 1975
*''Elpidia longicirrata
''Elpidia'' is a genus of deep-sea sea cucumbers. Members are characterised by their rod-shaped spicules which each have two pairs of obliquely-placed horizontal arms and two vertical apophyses. There is a high degree of endemism in this genus wi ...
'' Belyaev, 1971
*''Elpidia minutissima
''Elpidia minutissima'' is a species of deep-sea swimming sea cucumber in the family Elpidiidae. It is a detritivore and is found in the northern Pacific Ocean.
Description
Specimens collected from the Aleutian Trench averaged in length and ha ...
'' Belyaev, 1971
*''Elpidia ninae
''Elpidia'' is a genus of deep-sea sea cucumbers. Members are characterised by their rod-shaped spicules which each have two pairs of obliquely-placed horizontal arms and two vertical apophyses. There is a high degree of endemism in this genus wi ...
'' Belyaev, 1975
*''Elpidia solomonensis
''Elpidia'' is a genus of deep-sea sea cucumbers. Members are characterised by their rod-shaped spicules which each have two pairs of obliquely-placed horizontal arms and two vertical apophyses. There is a high degree of endemism in this genus wi ...
'' Hansen, 1956
*''Elpidia soyoae
''Elpidia'' is a genus of deep-sea sea cucumbers. Members are characterised by their rod-shaped spicules which each have two pairs of obliquely-placed horizontal arms and two vertical apophyses. There is a high degree of endemism in this genus wi ...
'' Ogawa, Morita & Fujita, 2020
*''Elpidia sundensis
''Elpidia'' is a genus of deep-sea sea cucumbers. Members are characterised by their rod-shaped spicules which each have two pairs of obliquely-placed horizontal arms and two vertical apophyses. There is a high degree of endemism in this genus wi ...
'' Hansen, 1956
*''Elpidia theeli
''Elpidia'' is a genus of deep-sea sea cucumbers. Members are characterised by their rod-shaped spicules which each have two pairs of obliquely-placed horizontal arms and two vertical apophyses. There is a high degree of endemism in this genus wi ...
'' Hansen, 1956
*''Elpidia uschakovi
''Elpidia'' is a genus of deep-sea sea cucumbers. Members are characterised by their rod-shaped spicules which each have two pairs of obliquely-placed horizontal arms and two vertical apophyses. There is a high degree of endemism in this genus wi ...
'' Belyaev, 1971
References
Holothuroidea genera
Elpidiidae
Taxa named by Johan Hjalmar Théel
{{Holothuroidea-stub