Sulfur Sea Cucumber
Sulfurado Pepine, Pepino de Mar
(Selenkothuria lubrica)

Sulfur Sea Cucumber, Selenkothuria lubrica: The Sulfur Sea Cucumber has a round tubular body which is larger at one end than the other with a tapered head. It is covered by conical spikes which have black tips known as papillae and is dark brown on the dorsal side and orange-yellow ventrally.

The Sulfur Sea Cucumber reaches a maximum length of six-and-a-half inches and is normally found in the first 50 feet of the water column.

The Sulfur Sea Cucumber is a member of the Holothuriidae Family, which are known in Mexico as minoes and are close relatives of starfish, brittle stars, sand dollars and sea urchins. They are shaped somewhat like their plant namesakes, being soft, slug-like organisms often with a tough, wart-like leathery outside skin. There are approximately 1,500 sea cucumbers known globally.

Most of these species are non-swimmers and lie on their sides at the bottom of the ocean. They do not have formal eyes. Their mouths are located at one end, surrounded by 8 to 30 modified tube feet or tentacles and the anus is at the other end. The tentacles secrete a sticky filamentous mucus, used to capture small planktonic organisms upon which they feed. Each tentacle is periodically wiped off within the esophagus and then brought out again with a fresh supply of mucus.

Most sea cucumbers have tube feet on their bodies, enabling the animal to move about slowly. They also produce a white sticky substance from the anus that is a fowl tasting acid utilized as a protection mechanism. They have few predators and thus are normally well exposed.

Sea cucumbers are known as “the earthworms of the sea,” feeding on algae, sand and related waste materials contributing to enrich the marine environment. When irritated sea cucumbers can either eject a portion of their intestines trying to “gross out” their attackers, or allow a section of their body to break off which they can quickly regenerate. Only one species of sea cucumber is sold commercially and that occurs in Asia as a delicacy, and is sold cooked, dried, or in soups.

Distribution in Mexico

In Mexican waters the Sulfur Sea Cucumber is found from Guerrero Negro south along the Pacific side of the Baja California peninsula, in the lower two-thirds of the Sea of Cortez, and along the coast of the mainland south to Acapulco. The Sulfur Sea Cucumber is not easily confused with other species of sea cucumbers.

Sea Cucumber picture

Sea Cucumber picture

Sulfur Sea Cucumber, Selenkothuria lubrica: Collected out of a tidal pool in January 2008 at the El Tule wash, at Km. 15 north of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Size approximately 6 inches. Upper photo shows the top side and lower photo shows the bottom side. Identification courtesy of Dr. Francisco A. Solis-Martin, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Mexico City. Description and photos courtesy of John Snow.

Mexico Fishing Home Page < Marine Life Flora and Fauna Photo List < Sulfur Sea Cucumber

Copyright ©