Libin Zhang aims to restore sea-cucumber populations to rebalance ocean ecosystems and so that people can use their beneficial compounds. Skip to main content. Thank you for visiting nature.com.

They then bring the food into the sea cucumber’s mouth. It’s the ocean equivalent of a finger-licking good meal. There’s a lot of other really weird things about sea cucumbers.

Which isn’t to say that the sea cucumber is without survival traits. It gathers food with 20 retractable tentacles in its mouth, according to the ADFG reference page.

The defense mechanisms animals use to evade or fight off predators can be both bizarre and fascinating. Some use camouflage or mimicry, while others have protective armor. Sea cucumbers, however, use ...

Ellen Goethel is a marine biologist and the owner of Explore the Ocean World Oceanarium at 367 Ocean Blvd. at Hampton Beach.

All products featured on WIRED are independently selected by our editors. However, we may receive compensation from retailers and/or from purchases of products through these links. A sea cucumber ...

This sea cucumber shoots sticky tubes out of its butt. Its genes hint at how. Holothuria leucospilota’s newly analyzed genome helps explain this predator defense ...

The sea cucumber ranges from three feet long to about six inches long, and is called “the vacuum cleaners of the sea floor.” Terry Lilley Critter of the Week Share this story ...

"Sea cucumbers provide an extra level of insurance against the things that are causing coral decline," says Clements. "Doesn't mean it's gonna fix everything, but we want to give them as much of a ...

Sea cucumber is also prized economically in Indonesia, given the high demand for the product in China. The Indonesian fisheries ministry reports that in 2021, South Sulawesi produced 588.5 metric ...