FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes Western

1168 Holothurians
Actinopyga mauritiana (Quoy and Gaimard, 1833)
Frequent synonyms / misidentifications: None / Actinopyga echinites (Jaeger, 1833).
FAO names: En - Surf redfish; Fr - Holothurie brune des brisants.
interradial radial
white spots
calcareous ring
spicules of tentacles
spicules of ventral tegument
mouth ventral, with
25 tentacles
spicules of dorsal podia
(after Féral and Cherbonnier, 1986)
anus with
5 stout teeth
spicules of dorsal tegument
Diagnostic characters: Body elongate, arched dorsally (bivium) and flattened ventrally (trivium). Bivium
sometimes wrinkled, wider in the middle and tapering towards both ends. Papillae on bivium long and
slender; podia numerous on trivium, stout and crowded on the radii and interradii; calcareous disc of podia
around 500 µm in diameter. Mouth ventral, surrounded by 25 short and stout tentacles, with a large
collar of long papillae at their base. Anus surrounded by 5 stout anal teeth. Calcareous ring showing large
radial pieces and interradials with a triangular top. Cuvierian tubules few (10), short, pink and never
expelled. Colour: bivium variable, usually dark brown, with more or less distinct whitish spots; trivium
lighter, occasionally white to pink, with yellow podia. Spicules: ventral tegument with round and biscuit-like
grains, rods bearing small spines, and denticulate pseudo-plates; dorsal tegument without grains, but with
rosettes and denticulate rods; podia with some spinous rods and large rosettes; tentacles with large rods
bearing small spines.
Size: Maximum length about 35 cm, commonly to 20 cm; mean live weight about 0.3 kg (up to 1 kg);
body-wall thickness about 6 mm.
Habitat, biology, and fisheries: Dwelling in very shallow waters, rarely found in depths of more than 20 m;
mostly on outer reef flats of barrier reefs and fringing reefs exposed to strong hydrodynamism. Most abundant
in the surf zone where populations can reach high densities (more than 1/m 2 ). Sexual reproduction takes place
during the warm season. A species with a high potential fecundity and early sexual maturity. Harvested in
artisanal fisheries throughout
the area, but probably less
frequently than other species
of Actinopyga. Collected by
hand while wading on the reef at
low tide. The processed product
is not distinguished from those of
other Actinopyga species and
has a moderate commercial
value.
Distribution: Widespread in
the tropical Indo-Pacific.