Species IUCN · Data Deficient (DD)

Amberfish Sea Cucumber

Thelenota anax, Clark, 1921

marine

About Amberfish Sea Cucumber

Thelenota anax is a species of sea cucumber mostly found in the tropical, South Pacific Ocean. It is also commonly known as the amber fish. Some other names for T. anax are black teatfish, blackfish, brownfish, chief sea cucumber, curryfish, elephant trunk cucumber, lollyfish, tripang, and white-teat sea cucumber. T. anax is found on sandy ocean bottoms and often have ectocommensal relationships. They are commonly fished commercially and exported because of their medicinal properties and large size.

Appearance

The body of T. anax can be a creamy beige or light brown with dark brown or red spots. It usually has light colored bumps on the top of its body. T. anax also has large with papillae located laterally on its body. On its ventral surface there is long white podia. Its mouth is also located ventrally with 18–20 peltate tentacles. The anus is located on the dorsal side of the animal towards the terminal end. Their average length is about 69 cm long, but the longest recorded sea cucumber was 89 cm long. Some of the biggest sea cucumber can weigh up to 5 kg. It also has two gonads that are approximately 70–500mm long.

Habitat

Thelenota anax prefers to live on soft, sandy portions of the ocean floor at depths greater than 25 m. Some can be found on the sides of reef slopes.

Where to see it

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