FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes Western

1174 Holothurians
Bohadschia vitiensis (Semper, 1867)
Frequent synonyms / misidentifications: None / Bohadschia marmorata Jaeger, 1833; B. bivittata
(Mitsukuri, 1912).
FAO names: En - Brown sandfish; Fr - Holothurie brune.
calcareous ring
spicule of tentacles
mouth ventral
with 20 short
tentacles
spicules of ventral
tegument
(after Féral and Cherbonnier, 1986)
spicules of ventral
podia
Diagnostic characters: Body cylindrical, arched dorsally (bivium) and flattened ventrally (trivium);
calcareous disc of podia around 300 µm in diameter. Mouth ventral, surrounded by 20 small, short and
yellowish tentacles. Anus nearly dorsal. Calcareous ring with large radial pieces and narrow interradials.
Cuvierian tubules numerous and thick. Colour: bivium yellow with brown bands; trivium lighter; podia
on bivium and trivium encircled by a characteristic brown spot. Spicules: ventral tegument with a
variety of pseudo-rosettes and biscuit-like nodules; dorsal tegument with rosettes and a few rods; ventral
podia with various rods; tentacles with rods, straight or slightly curved and very spiny.
Size: Maximum length about 40 cm, commonly to about 32 cm; mean live weight about 1.2 kg (up to 1.6 kg);
body-wall thickness about 7 mm.
Habitat, biology, and fisheries: Found in moderately shallow waters, rarely in depths of more than 20 m;
mostly on coastal lagoons and inner reef flats; abundant in sandy-muddy sediments where it burrows most
of the time. Population densities generally less than 0.02/m 2 . May be harvested with other reef flat species,
such as Bohadschia similis and Holothuria scabra, when they occur together, but the sticky Cuvierian
tubules make the collection and processing disagreeable. Collected by hand at low tide, or by divers. The
processed product is not distinguished from those of other Bohadschia species and is of little commercial
value.
Distribution: Widespread in
the tropical Indo-Pacific.
podia
spicules of dorsal
tegument
anus
subdorsal