''Opheodesoma spectabilis'' is a synaptid sea cucumber in the

Indo-Pacific The Indo-Pacific is a vast biogeographic region of Earth. In a narrow sense, sometimes known as the Indo-West Pacific or Indo-Pacific Asia, it comprises the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the ...

that can be locally very abundant.

Description

With their flexible, wormlike bodies and mouth surrounded by tentacles ''Opheodesoma spectabilis'' varies in color. From a shade of gray when above water, to a rich chocolate brown or "bloodsucker" red when below water.

Biology

As sea cucumbers most commonly do, the Opheodesoma are

invertebrates Invertebrates are animals that neither develop nor retain a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''spine'' or ''backbone''), which evolved from the notochord. It is a paraphyletic grouping including all animals excluding the chordate subphylum ...

that start their life cycle as Planktotrophic larvae. They then grow into cylinder-shaped doliolaria who metamorphose into the juvenile opheodesoma spectabilis you often see today.

Distribution and habitat

''Opheodesoma spectabilis'' is located in subtropical and tropical areas such as

New Caledonia New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Overseas France#Sui generis collectivity, ''sui generis'' collectivity of t ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

, the

East Africa East Africa, also known as Eastern Africa or the East of Africa, is a region at the eastern edge of the Africa, African continent, distinguished by its unique geographical, historical, and cultural landscape. Defined in varying scopes, the regi ...

, and

Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...

. Generally found at the bottom of the ocean floor within the sand, crumble, shells, and brown algae called

Sargassum ''Sargassum'' is a genus of brown macroalgae ( seaweed) in the order Fucales of the Phaeophyceae class. Numerous species are distributed throughout the temperate and tropical oceans of the world, where they generally inhabit shallow water and ...

Diet

These conspicuous creatures are bottom feeders, aka reef janitors. Their diets mainly consist of dead plant and animal particles. This animal eats by accumulating the particles with its tentacles and then depositing said particles into its mouth.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2168909 Synaptidae Echinoderms of the Indian Ocean Echinoderms of the Pacific Ocean