''Actinopyga echinites'', commonly known as the brownfish or deep water redfish,
is a species of
sea cucumber
Sea cucumbers are echinoderms from the class Holothuroidea (). They are marine animals with a leathery skin and an elongated body containing a single, branched gonad. Sea cucumbers are found on the sea floor worldwide. The number of holothuria ...
in the family
Holothuriidae
Holothuriidae is a family of sea cucumbers, a type of echinoderm.
Description
Members of the family Holothuriidae have thick fleshy bodies and several rows of tube feet which are used for moving around and for adhering to the surface. The body ...
. It is native to the tropical Indo-Pacific region and is harvested for food.
Description
''Actinopyga echinites'' grows to a length of about . It is widest in the middle, tapering slightly at both ends; the dorsal surface is arched while the ventral surface is flattened. The leathery skin is rough, being covered in papillae. The skin is strengthened by the presence of spicules, microscopic spike-like structures, which in this species are shaped like large rods. The colour of this sea cucumber is brown above and orange-brown below, and the upper surface often has sand adhering to it. The anus is surrounded by five beige anal teeth, and the pinkish
Cuvierian tubules
Cuvierian tubules are clusters of fine tubes located at the base of the respiratory tree in some sea cucumbers in the genera ''Bohadschia'', ''Holothuria'' and ''Pearsonothuria'', all of which are included in the family Holothuriidae. The tubules ...
are occasionally discharged through the anus when the animal is stressed.
Distribution and habitat
''Actinopyga echinites'' is found off the coasts of Asia and Africa, in the tropical
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...
and the western
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
. Its range extends from the
Red Sea
The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; T ...
, the east coast of Africa and Madagascar, to Indonesia, northern Australia, the Philippines, New Guinea and other island groups in the western Pacific. It is found on the seabed in shallow water on reef flats, on fringing flats, in lagoons and estuaries, at depths between . It is often plentiful in
seagrass meadow
A seagrass meadow or seagrass bed is an underwater ecosystem formed by seagrasses. Seagrasses are marine (saltwater) plants found in shallow coastal waters and in the brackish waters of estuaries. Seagrasses are flowering plants with stems and ...
s and on rubble.
Status
This species is harvested commercially for food over most of its range.
It is of medium commercial value and never fetches as good a price as the most desirable species. Because it is easy to collect it is over-exploited in many areas, and the
International Union for Conservation of Nature
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...
estimates that populations have declined by 60 to 90% over at least 50% of its range. It further estimates that the global population has declined by 40% and it has assessed the conservation status of this sea cucumber as
vulnerable.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2491752
Holothuriidae
Fauna of the Indian Ocean
Fauna of the Pacific Ocean
Animals described in 1833