Some of the rather strange invertebrates are sea cucumbers. Why are “marine”, of course, their habitat is the Pacific bottom, but why are “cucumbers”? These creatures are more like a brown one, twenty or forty centimeters in length, a sausage covered with warts and outgrowths that slowly crawls (by the way, for some reason on its side) along the sandy bottom or hides under stones in the low tide zone.
To whom is a cucumber a relative?
By the way, there is an opinion that the name Holothuridae is translated from Latin as “extremely disgusting”. This seems to be true: outwardly, the holothuria (as the class to which the sea cucumber belongs) is very similar to a slug or a leathery sac filled with internal organs.
And she belongs to the class of echinoderms, and her closest relatives are sea urchins and starfish. With the same manner to move on the legs, tubes, which are set in motion by the water pumped through the body. Although in one, sea cucumbers are extremely original: they breathe through the backside, drawing water into the anus.
Cucumber Freeloaders
Such an incredibly functional back part of the holothurium is used by all sorts of sea trifles: both crabs, and tiny-eared fish-Karapus, and worms. They, having waited for the moment of opening, snoop in there, as in an excellent refuge, and spend the whole day examining the cucumber guts. And if you really need to go out, then they knock, and the owner lets them out.
True, some cheeks also begin to feed on the insides of our hero. Well, who can bear it? And sea cucumbers invented a great way: they simply blow their guts through the anus and, having thus freed themselves from parasites, they grow new ones for themselves.
How can you be saved from danger?
All types of holothuria living on the bottom of the ocean have an incredible supply of protection against dangers. A sea cucumber, the photo of which you can see in this article, has the ability to change the state of its body from solid to fluid. He, fleeing from a predator, can simply "merge" into any gap and harden there again so that no one can pull it out.
And some sea cucumbers produce thin sticky strings that quickly harden in water and turn into a real network that can glue the attacker for several hours.
Incidentally, devoid of viscera, genitals, and part of the body, a sea cucumber grows them in a couple of months. And each part of the invertebrate cut in half will turn into a new cucumber.
Edible Sea Cucumber - Trepang
More than 30 species of holothurians are eaten. Since ancient times, these creatures were considered a delicacy. Especially among residents of China, Japan, Malaysia and India. They are salted, dried, boiled and even smoked.
In addition, sea cucumbers are an excellent aphrodisiac and painkiller, their meat helps to strengthen the immune system and lower blood pressure, normalizes the functioning of the heart muscle. And for the elderly, this is generally an elixir of longevity.
By the way, the body of trepang consists of sterile cells that do not even have a hint of viruses and bacteria. And although this invertebrate does not look very attractive, it is worth including it in your diet.
