PORT PHILLIP BAY


Sea Cucumber 

Squamocnus aureoruber O'Loughlin & O'Hara, 1992

View scientific description and taxonomy

Scientific Details

Body wall ossicles are scales, perforated plates, many with knobs, and very small cups with spinous rim. Small (body up to 10 mm long), calcareous and hard (scales in the body wall), golden-red.

Taxonomy

Phylum:
Echinodermata
Class:
Holothuroidea
Order:
Dendrochirotida
Family:
Cucumariidae
Genus:
Squamocnus
Species:
aureoruber

General Description

Body calcareous and hard from scales in the body wall, golden-red. Up to 1 cm long.

Biology

This tiny species is one of two fissiparous species on the coast of Victoria. This means that they can reproduce by splitting their bodies in two.

Habitat

Fine fronds of small seaweeds, to depth of at least 85 m.

Reefs

Distribution guide

South-eastern Australia, including western and central Victoria.

Species Group

Sea cucumbers

Depth

Shore (0-1 m)
Shallow (1-30 m)
Deep ( > 30 m)

Water Column

On or near sea floor

Max Size

1 cm

Diet

Organic matter

Commercial Species

No

Global Dispersal

Native to Australia

Species Code

MoV 1858

Identify

Conservation Status

  • DSE Advisory List : Not listed
  • EPBC Act 1999 : Not listed
  • IUCN Red List : Not listed

Author

article author O'Loughlin, P. M.

Mark O'Loughlin is an Honorary Associate in marine invertebrates at Museum Victoria.

citation

Cite this page as:
O'Loughlin, P. M., 2011, Sea Cucumber, Squamocnus aureoruber, in Taxonomic Toolkit for marine life of Port Phillip Bay, Museum Victoria, accessed 02 Apr 2025, http://136.154.202.208:8098/species/4711

Text: creative commons cc by licence