What is a sea cucumbers?

Answer 1

The sea cucumber is an echinoderm of the class Holothuroidea, with an elongated body and leathery skin, which is found on the sea floor worldwide. It is so named because of its cucumber-like shape. The body contains a single, branched gonad. Like all echinoderms, sea cucumbers have an endoskeleton just below the skin, calcified structures that are usually reduced to isolated microscopic ossicles (or sclerietes) joined by connective tissue. These can sometimes be enlarged to flattened plates, forming an armour. In pelagic species (Order Elasipodida, family Pelagothuriidae), the skeleton is often absent. It is part of the urchin bottomfeeders family. They feed by filter feeding. The sea cucumber, a purplish-brown creature covered with warts, has a unique defense strategy. When attacked, it throws out sticky threads from its mouth, which entangles its enemy. The sea cucumber can then quickly escape.