Black sea cucumber - Black sea cucumber

A marine animal belonging to the phylum Echinodermata, class Holothuria, family Holothuridae. A medium-sized, black sea cucumber that grows in colonies on the sandy areas of coral reefs. Its body is jet black, but it secretes mucus on its surface, and has white sand grains all over it, as if it were dusted with powder. Some have uneven patches of sand on their body, giving the appearance of black spots on the base color. Its body is slightly slender and cylindrical, and soft all over. There are no noticeable bumps on its surface, and it has small tube feet on its ventral surface and many small warts on its dorsal surface. It is 20 to 50 centimeters long. It has 20 tentacles. It is found in the coral reef areas of the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean, south of the Ryukyu Islands. In the Okinawa region, some large, fleshy ones found in deep waters are caught and dried for food.

[Michio Shigei]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

棘皮(きょくひ)動物門ナマコ綱クロナマコ科に属する海産動物。サンゴ礁の砂地に群生する中形で黒色のナマコ。体色は漆黒であるが、体表に粘液を分泌し、全身粉をまぶしたように白い砂粒をつけている。また、砂がむらになってつき、地色が黒斑(こくはん)になってみえるものもある。体はやや細めの筒形で、全体が柔らかい。体表に目だった凹凸はなく、腹面に小さな管足、背面に細かいいぼが多数ある。体長20～50センチメートル。触手は20本。南西諸島以南、インド洋、西太平洋のサンゴ礁海域に分布。沖縄地方では、深みにいる大形で肉厚のものをとり、乾製品として食用にする所もある。

［重井陸夫］

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