''Enypniastes'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of deep-sea

sea cucumber Sea cucumbers are echinoderms from the class (biology), class Holothuroidea ( ). They are benthic marine animals found on the sea floor worldwide, and the number of known holothuroid species worldwide is about 1,786, with the greatest number be ...

. It is

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...

, being represented by the single species ''Enypniastes eximia''. Due to its unique appearance, the species has been dubbed the headless chicken fish, headless chicken monster, and the Spanish dancer. It is also known as the swimming sea cucumber, and some are called the pink see-through fantasia.

Description

Species in this genus have developed webbed swimming fin like structures at the front and back of their bodies which enable them to swim up off the surface of the sea floor and to journey as much as up into the water column. This is thought to help the animals move to new feeding grounds and avoid predators.Miller, J. E.; Pawson, David L.
Swimming Sea Cucumbers (Echinodermata: Holothuroidea): A Survey, with Analysis of Swimming Behavior in Four Bathyal Species
''Smithsonian contributions to the marine sciences'', no 35, 1990. The sea cucumber ranges in size from . Its most distinct feature is its coloring, which is dictated by size: small enypniastes are a bright pink, and larger individuals are a more reddish-brown color. It is also semi-transparent, and its

intestine The gastrointestinal tract (GI tract, digestive tract, alimentary canal) is the tract or passageway of the digestive system that leads from the mouth to the anus. The tract is the largest of the body's systems, after the cardiovascular system. T ...

can be seen through its body, especially after feeding. The enypniastes have a round bulbous body, bifurcated tentacles, and a large anterior sail. They can also be bioluminescent.

Distribution and habitat

The enypniastes can be found mainly in the

benthic zone The benthic zone is the ecological region at the lowest level of a body of water such as an ocean, lake, or stream, including the sediment surface and some sub-surface layers. The name comes from the Ancient Greek word (), meaning "the depths". ...

of the ocean. They can be found all over the globe in many different regions. They spend most of their time in the water column, touching down on the seafloor only to eat. The first sighting in the southern ocean waters occurred in October 2018, when a team from Australia's

Department of the Environment and Energy The Department of the Environment and Energy (DEE) was an Government of Australia, Australian government department in existence between 2016 and 2020. The department was responsible for matters including environment protection and conservatio ...

caught an image of ''E. eximia'' on a camera that had been deployed in seas near

East Antarctica East Antarctica, also called Greater Antarctica, constitutes the majority (two-thirds) of the Antarctic continent, lying primarily in the Eastern Hemisphere south of the Indian Ocean, and separated from West Antarctica by the Transantarctic ...

Feeding

The enypniastes feed mostly on benthic sediment. They feed by pushing food into their mouths with their tentacles. They feed very quickly, staying on the seafloor for at most sixty four seconds. Since that is mostly enough time to feed fully, the enypniastes feed episodically.

Movement

The enypniastes move using a few methods. The first is that they move their anterior veil in a rowing motion. The second is that when there is a current, the organism will use their tentacles to pull themselves down current. They also move using a pushing motion with their tentacles. Enypniastes sp Indonesia

Footnotes

Notes

External links

*
Enypniastes eximia
*The Blue Planet

{{Taxonbar, from=Q18523915, from2=Q2242051, from3=Q2186367, from4=Q2029649, from5=Q1879884, from6=Q2009767 Holothuroidea genera Pelagothuriidae Taxa named by Johan Hjalmar Théel de:Enypniastes eximia