The Stichopodidae are a family of sea cucumbers, part of the order Synallactida.[1]
Description
Members of this family are mostly large or medium-sized holothuroids with a squarish cross-section, a flat ventral surface, and large, fleshy, cone-shaped projections. Their mouths are surrounded by 20 peltate tentacles. They are usually found on soft substrates, such as sand or rubble.[2]
A typical stichopodid (
Stichopus herrmanni) — massive sea cucumber, angular in cross-section, with thick papillae looking like tubercles.
Genera
List of genera according to the World Register of Marine Species:
- genus Apostichopus Liao, 1980 (8 species, North Pacific)
- genus Astichopus Clark, 1922 (1 species, Caribbean)
- genus Australostichopus Levin in Moraes et al., 2004 (1 species, New Zealand and southern Australia)
- genus Eostichopus Cutress & Miller, 1982 (1 species, Caribbean)
- genus Isostichopus Deichmann, 1958 (3 species, warm East Pacific and Atlantic)
- genus Neostichopus Deichmann, 1948 (1 species, South Africa)
- genus Parastichopus Clark, 1922 (2 species, Atlantic and North Pacific)
- genus Stichopus Brandt, 1835 (13 species, Indo-Pacific)
- genus Thelenota Brandt, 1835 (3 species, Indo-Pacific)
References
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