''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 a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...

that start their life cycle as

Planktotrophic Marine larval ecology is the study of the factors influencing dispersing larvae, which many marine invertebrates and fishes have. Marine animals with a larva typically release many larvae into the water column, where the larvae develop before met ...

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

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Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

, the

East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the historical ...

, and

Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...

. 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 (class Phaeophyceae) macroalgae (seaweed) in the order Fucales. Numerous species are distributed throughout the temperate and tropical oceans of the world, where they generally inhabit shallow water and coral re ...

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

{{Reflist Synaptidae Aquatic organisms Hawaii Invertebrates of the Indian Ocean Fauna of the Pacific Ocean