Sea Cucumber Family Profile

Compiled by Debbie & Stan Hauter

Phylum Echinodermata Class Holothuroidea

Order Apodacea Suborder Apodida Family Synaptidae Genus Synapta or Euapta, Ophiodesoma, & Polyplectana (a.k.a. Medusa or Sea Worms)

Members of the family Synaptidae are serpentine sea cucumbers that have extremely thin body walls and lack tube feet. Falling into the #1 feeding category, they use their oral tentacles to gather food particles from the substrate, furling and unfurling to a slow rhythm when bringing food to their mouth. These animals are usually nocturnal, and the light sensitive organs at the base of their tentacles sense the approach of potential predators, contracting quickly when disturbed. Fascinating and fun to watch, they are real cleaning machines for maintaining sand substrates, but are suggested to be kept in a non-aggressive species, non-fish aquarium, as genus Synapta or Euapta have been reported to kill fish if injured or stressed. These sea cucumbers can be quite long in size when stretched out, and are often referred to as Medusa Worms because of their resemblance of looking like a worm having the head of Medusa, the mythological woman that had snakes on her head instead of hair. They do not eviscerate or eject sticky threads to defend themselves, but their bodies can collapse like a plastic bag when removed from the water.

• Conspicuous/Sea Worm (Ophiodesoma spectabilis; Fisher, 1907)
• Range: Indo-Pacific.
• Size: To 3 feet stretched.
• Characteristics: Good for reef aquarium when small.

 
• Lion's Paw (Euapta godeffroyi; Semper, 1868)
• Range: Indo-Pacific
• Size: To 4 feet stretched.

• Keferstein's (Polyplectana kefersteini; Selenka, 1867)
• Range: Indo-Pacific
• Size: To 2 feet stretched, but usually smaller.

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Reference Resources
"Hawai'i's Sea Creatures: A Guide to Hawai'i's
Marine Invertebrates" by John P. Hoover.
Cucumber Defenses by Rob Toonen
Gad-Zooks Cukes! by Robert Fenner
Other Net Resources About Sea Cucumbers
Marine Species Taxonomy Database Resources

Sea Worm image used by courtesy
of Brian Tissot's Hawai'i Coral Reef Network

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More Resources
Sea Cucumber Photos Index | Invert Care by Species Index
Fish & Invert Care Index | Fish & Invert Photos Index
Saltwater Livestock Suppliers Index

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