FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes Western

Order Aspidochirotida - Holothuriidae 1179
Holothuria (Metriatyla) scabra Jaeger, 1833
Frequent synonyms / misidentifications: None / Holothuria (Metriatyla) scabra var. versicolor
(Conand, 1986).
wrinkles
FAO names: En -Sandfish.
anus terminal
with 20 papillae
calcareous ring
spicule of podia
mouth ventral, with
20 short tentacles
spicules of ventral tegument
Diagnostic characters: Body oval, arched dorsally (bivium) and flattened ventrally (trivium). Bivium with
characteristic wrinkles, covered by sediment when the animal is coming out of the bottom. Bivium with
small papillae within black dots, and black podia ending in a disc of around 220 µm diameter; podia on
trivium arranged irregularly, their calcareous disc around 350 µm in diameter. Mouth ventral, surrounded
by a collar of papillae and 20 grey, short and stout tentacles. Anus terminal, surrounded by a circle
of 5 groups of radial papillae. Calcareous ring with a large medio-ventral radial piece. Cuvierian tubules
absent. Colour: highly variable; bivium whitish to dark brown, occasionally with dark transverse markings;
trivium lighter, generally whitish. Spicules: very numerous; ventral tegument with tables and buttons, the
tables having a moderately small disc, perforated by a varying number of holes of variable size, the spire
with 4 pillars and a cross-like bridge, ending in a spiny crown with a hole in the middle; knobby buttons
generally have 6 holes, occasionally more; small rods and denticulate plates also present; tables and
buttons in dorsal tegument: tables with a nodose disc, much larger than in ventral tegument; buttons
variable, larger, and more perforated than those in ventral tegument; ventral and dorsal podia with long and
large spinose rods; tentacles with long spiny rods, small smooth rods, and large denticulate plates.
Size: Maximum length about 35 cm, commonly to about 22 cm; mean live weight about 0.3 kg (up to 1 kg);
body-wall thickness about 6 mm.
Habitat, biology, and fisheries: Found in shallow waters, rarely in depths of more than 10 m; mostly on inner
reef flats of fringing and lagoon-islet reefs, coastal areas under terrigenous influence, and near mangroves.
Burrows in mud and sandy-muddy bottoms where the populations can reach high densities (up to 1/m2 spicules of tentacles (after Féral and Cherbonnier, 1986)
spicules of dorsal tegument
).Sexual
reproduction takes place during the warm season. A species with a high potential fecundity and early sexual
maturity. Provides the principal share of the tropical Indo-Pacific production of bêche-de-mer and is
harvested throughout the area in artisanal
fisheries. Collected by hand while wading
on the reefs at low tide. The processing
method is particular of this species: the
sea cucumbers are buried overnight, and
the next day the numerous spicules are
removed by brushing the tegument. The
processed product is of major commercial
value and at present highly demanded.
Distribution: Widespread in the tropical
Indo-Pacific, excluding Hawaii.