Sea Pigs, Vacuum Snacking and Crab Ubers
When I think ‘sea cucumber’ I usually imagine those big dark slugs that dominate the rock pool I used to explore as a kid. You could see them, slimy and motionless, poking just above the tide level. I would pick them up and squeal at their strange squishiness.
This week's creature feature is also a sea-cucumber, but I doubt you would see them at a rock pool. The sea pig is a deep water (1200-5000 metres) deposit feeder, so they consume food particles they find on the ocean floor or from droppings of larger organisms swimming above them.
Quick Facts:
Scientific name: Scotoplanes genus
Geographic location: deep ocean floor in Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans
Distinguishing feature: translucent body with long ‘tentacle’ looking feet
Conservation status: Not threatened
Did you know that they can ‘smell’ nearby food sources and move towards them by ‘walking’ (watch them march) or swim by folding their body to propel upwards. Watch them swim here:
Their favourite food is a fresh carcass, and researchers have found them devouring whale corpses along with many other deposit feeders. Whilst they don’t appear to have any capacity for social behaviour, you’ll typically find them in large groups (sometimes up to 600 individuals) , facing the same direction to capture food floating with the current.
Sea pigs have an important role in the abyssal plain ecosystem. In addition to decomposing organic material like worms do in your backyard, sea pigs are also the hosts for other deepwater species. Young crabs often attach themselves to the underside of sea pigs to hide from predators, and parasitic invertebrates like snails and crustaceans can also benefit from attaching to a sea pig host!
Some may call them creepy, others may call them cute. Either way, they are an important character in the bizarre ocean underworld!
How big can the scotoplanes genus get to?