Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | CoL | ITIS | WoRMS

Holothuroidea | Holothuriida | Holothuriidae

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Reef-associated; depth range 0 - 12 m (Ref. 122). Tropical

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions

Indo-Pacific.

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: L_m ?, range 12 - ? cm Max length : 36.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 101468); common length : 20.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 122); max. published weight: 1.0 kg (Ref. 418)

Short description Morphology

Body width: 10 cm. Maximum weight: 1000 g (Ref. 418); 300 g. Body thickness: 0.7 cm. Elongate, arched dorsally (bivium) and flattened ventrally (trivium). Bivium sometimes wrinkled and covered by sediment; wider in the middle; tapering towards both ends. Papillae on bivium long and slender; podia on trivium arranged more or less regularly in 3 rows calcareous disc surrounded by 5 anal teeth. Calcareous ring with large radial pieces and narrow interradial. Cuvierian tubules few (10); short, pink, and never expelled. Bivium is brown, varying from light to dark among specimens; trivium lighter, sometime orange, with yellow podia. Ventral tegument with a variety of small rosettes and rods, occasionally perforated; dorsal tegument with larger rosettes and branched plates; ventral podia with some straight, spinous rods; tentacles with rods large, straight , or curved, and very spiny at their extremities (Ref. 122).

Harvested in artisanal fisheries throughout the Western Central Pacific. Processed product is not distinguished from those of other Actinopyga species and has a moderate commercial value. Collected by hand while wading on the reefs at low tide (Ref. 122). Dwells in moderately shallow waters (despite its English common name), in sandy areas with large amounts of coral rubble; mostly on reef flats of fringing and lagoon-islet reefs; abundant in seagrass beds, on rubble flats, and compact flats where populations can reach high densities (up to 1/m) (Ref. 122); it attaches to rocks with its tube feet (Ref. 118).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Sexual reproduction takes place during warm season. A species with a high potential fecundity and early sexual maturity (Ref. 122).

Main reference References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Conand, C. 1998. (Ref. 122)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

Vulnerable (VU) (A2bd); Date assessed: 18 May 2010

CITES status (Ref. 108899)

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

Human uses

Fisheries: commercial
| FishSource |

Tools

E-book | Field guide

More information

Countries
FAO areas
Ecosystems
Occurrences
Introductions
Stocks
Ecology
Diet
Food items

Common names
Synonyms
Predators
Reproduction
Maturity
Spawning
Fecundity
Eggs
Egg development

Age/Size
Growth
Length-weight
Length-length
Morphology
Larvae
Abundance

References
Mass conversion

Collaborators
Pictures

Internet sources

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 115969): 25 - 29.3, mean 28.4 (based on 3693 cells).

Resilience (Ref. 69278): Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (K=0.09).

Vulnerability (Ref. 71543): Low vulnerability (25 of 100).

Price category (Ref. 80766): Unknown.

Actinopyga echinites (Jaeger, 1833)