Holothuria

Edible sea cucumber Holothuria edulis, copyright Ed Bierman.

Belongs within: Aspidochirotida.

Holothuria is a genus of sea cucumbers found primarily in coastal regions, particularly around coral reefs.

Characters (from Rowe 1969): Tentacles 17–30, usually 20, pedicels and papillae variously arranged on the ventral and dorsal sides respectively; anal papillae variously developed or absent; body wall very variable; body form showing a wide range, vermiform, cylindrical or with ventral side distinctly flattened and sole-like, dorsally arched; size ranging from small to large, even massive, up to 450 (?600) mm long; calcareous ring more or less well developed, usually with radial plates two to three times as long as interradial plates, anterior margin of ring rarely scalloped, posterior margin usually undulating; spicules very diverse and variously developed, tables usually present.

<==Holothuria Linnaeus 1758 L58
    |--H. (Halodeima) MG-H11
    |    |--H. (H.) edulis Lesson 1830 MG-H11, BM09
    |    |--‘Halodeima’ insignis FE66
    |    `--H. (H.) nigralutea O’Loughlin in O’Loughlin et al. 2007 MG-H11
    `--H. (Panningothuria) austrinabassa O’Loughlin in O’Loughlin et al. 2007 MG-H11

Holothuria incertae sedis:
  H. atra Jaeger 1833 BM09
  H. caudata Linnaeus 1758 L58
  H. denudata Linnaeus 1758 L58
  H. difficilis Semper 1868 BM09
  H. floridana D49
  H. forskali D49 [incl. H. nigra BK77]
  H. fuscogilva Cherbonnier 1980 BM09
  H. helleri BK77
  H. hilla Lesson 1830 BM09
  H. impatiens (Forskål 1775) BM09
  H. inhabilis Selenka 1867 BM09
  H. leucospilota (Brandt 1835) BM09
  H. olivacea Ludwig 1888 BM09
  H. pardalis Selenka 1867 BM09
  H. parvula [=Actinopyga parvula; incl. H. captiva] D49
  H. pervicax Selenka 1867 BM09
  H. polii HK02
  H. remollescens Lampert 1885 BM09
  H. sanguinolenta D49
  H. surinamensis D49
  H. thalia Linnaeus 1758 L58
  H. tubulosa D49
  H. umbrina FE66
  H. whitmaei (Selenka 1867) BM09

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[BK77] Barel, C. D. N., & P. G. N. Kramers. 1977. A survey of the echinoderm associates of the north-east Atlantic area. Zoologische Verhandelingen 156: 1–159.

[BM09] Bryce, C., & L. Marsh. 2009. Echinodermata (Asteroidea, Echinoidea and Holothuroidea) of Mermaid (Rowley Shoals), Scott and Seringapatam Reefs, Western Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum Supplement 77: 209–220.

[D49] Dawbin, W. H. 1949. Auto-evisceration and the regeneration of viscera in the holothurian Stichopus mollis Hutton. Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand 77 (4): 497–523.

[FE66] Frizzell, D. L., & H. Exline. 1966. Holothuroidea—fossil record. In: Moore, R. C. (ed.) Treatise on invertebrate Paleontology pt U. Echinodermata 3 vol. 2 pp. U646–U672. The Geological Society of America, Inc., and The University of Kansas Press.

[HK02] Haug, T., A. K. Kjuul, O. B. Styrvold, E. Sandsdalen, Ø. M. Olsen & K. Stensvåg. 2002. Antibacterial activity in Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis (Echinoidea), Cucumaria frondosa (Holothuroidea), and Asterias rubens (Asteroidea). Journal of Invertebrate Pathology 81: 94–102.

[L58] Linnaeus, C. 1758. Systema Naturae per Regna Tria Naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata. Laurentii Salvii: Holmiae.

[MG-H11] McEnnulty, F. R., K. L. Gowlett-Holmes, A. Williams, F. Althaus, J. Fromont, G. C. B. Poore, T. D. O’Hara, L. Marsh, P. Kott, S. Slack-Smith, P. Alderslade & M. V. Kitahara. 2011. The deepwater megabenthic invertebrates on the western continental margin of Australia (100–1100 m depths): composition, distribution and novelty. Records of the Western Australian Museum Supplement 80: 1–191.

Rowe, F. W. E. 1969. A review of the family Holothuriidae (Holothuroidea: Aspidochirotida). Bulletin of the British Museum of Natural History (Zoology) 18 (4): 119–170.