Cotton spinner by Coral Smith
Cotton spinner
Although they might not look it, sea cucumbers like this one belong to the Echinoderm group and are therefore closely related to starfish and sea urchins
Scientific name
Holothuria forskaliWhen to see
April - October.Species information
Category
Statistics
Up to 25cm long.Conservation status
Common.
Habitats
About
The cotton spinner has short tentacles, unlike other species which have long, feathery tentacles, which means they like to sift through the mud and sand to find food, rather than gathering it from the water column.How to identify
Cylindrical body up to 25cm long, black on the upper half of the body and yellow on the lower half. Covered all over the top half in black spikes and spines and underside covered in sticky tube feet.Distribution
Found off South west and west Britain.Did you know?
When threatened, this sea cucumber fires out sticky white threads from its rear end!How people can help
Always follow the Seashore Code when rockpooling, be careful to leave everything as you found it - replace any rocks you turn over, put back any crabs or fish and ensure not to scrape anything off its rocky home.
Mark Hamblin/2020VISION
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Memberships help us campaign for better protection and management of our seas.
Mark Hamblin/2020VISION
Seas in crisis
Plastic-strewn beaches, fisheries on the verge of collapse and the ever growing effects of global climate change.
