FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes Western

1184 Holothurians
Pearsonothuria graeffei (Semper, 1868)
Frequent synonyms / misidentifications: Bohadschia graeffei (Semper, 1868) / None.
FAO names: En - Blackspotted sea cucumber.
calcareous ring
spicules of tentacles
spicules of anal tegument
spicules of podia
(after Féral and Cherbonnier, 1986)
spicules of dorsal and ventral tegument
black spots
white
papillae on
bivium
mouth with 25
large black
tentacles
Diagnostic characters: Body subcylindrical, arched dorsally (bivium) and slightly flattened ventrally
(trivium). White conical papillae sparsely distributed on bivium; podia on trivium long and large, their
calcareous disc around 240 µm in diameter. Mouth ventral, surrounded by 25 large, black tentacles.
Anus nearly dorsal. Calcareous ring with irregular pieces. Cuvierian tubules numerous, but never expelled.
Colour: bivium whitish with large, brown dots and numerous small black spots; trivium grey, also with
small black spots. Spicules: dorsal and ventral tegument with pseudo-tables and rosettes; pseudo-tables
consisting of large base with a large hole, and a spiny spire; rosettes numerous, those in the tegument
simple, but more complicated in the dorsal papillae and ventral podia; also present around the anus are
rods, small plates, and tables with a very spiny crown; tentacles containing a few rods and large plates
derived from rosettes.
Size: Maximum length about 45 cm, commonly to about 35 cm; mean live weight about 0.7 kg (up to 1.3 kg);
body-wall thickness about 4 mm.
Habitat, biology, and fisheries: A coral reef species, rarely found in depths of more than 25 m; mostly
found on reef slopes, close to
the coast; abundant on corals
mixed with calcareous red
algae. Population densities
generally less than 0.005/m 2 .
Not harvested for bêche-demer
production.
Distribution: Widespread in the
tropical Indo-Pacific, excluding
the Persian Gulf and Hawaii.
anus
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