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Order Aspidochirotida - 1185

Order Aspidochirotida - Stichopodidae STICHOPODIDAE

iagnostic characters: Body square-shaped or trapezoidal in cross-section. Cuvierian organs absent. DGonads forming 2 tufts appended on each side of the dorsal mesentery. Dominant spicules in form of branched rods and C-and S-shaped rods.

Key to the genera of Stichopodidae occurring in the area (after Clark and Rowe, 1971) 1a. Bivium covered with large papillae, leaf-shaped, simple or branched, and without podia regularly arranged longitudinally; spicules never developod as tables, but numerous grains, dichotomously branched rods ...... 1b. Bivium covered with tubercules and papillae, at least on sides; trivium more or less covered by podia; spicules developod as tables, branched rods, and C-and S-shaped rods ......

List of of interest to fisheries occurring in the area The symbol * is given when species accounts are included. * Brandt, 1835 * Selenka, 1867 * Stichopus variegatus Semper, 1868 * (Jaeger, 1833) * Clark, 1921 1186 Holothurians

Stichopus chloronotus Brandt, 1835 Frequent synonyms / misidentifications: None / None. FAO names: En - Greenfish; Fr - Trépang vert. row of large papillae anus terminal

calcareous ring

mouth ventral, with papillae and 20 tentacles

spicules of podia

spicules of tentacles spicules of tegument (after Féral and Cherbonnier, 1986) Diagnostic characters: Body firm, rigid with quadrangular section, flattened ventrally (trivium); body wall easily disintegrates outside sea water. Radii of bivium with characteristic double row of large papillae, each radius ending in a small red or orange papilla. Trivium delimited by characteristic double row of large papillae; stout podia arranged regularly on 3 radial bands, with 10 rows in the medio-ventral band and 5 in the lateral. Mouth ventral, surrounded by a row of papillae and 20 green, stout tentacles. Anus terminal. Calcareous ring with large radial pieces and narrow interradials. Cuvierian tubules absent. Cloaca large and greenish. Colour: bivium dark green to black; trivium lighter. Spicules: presence of very characteristic tables with a narrow disc showing 4 holes, bearing a spire generally ending in a moderately spiny crown; tables with larger disc and simpler crown also present; presence of many C-shaped spicules; rosettes absent; tables in dorsal with have a large multiperforated disc, bearing a large spire; ventral papillae with long, smooth rods; ventral podia with denticulate rods and large multiperforated plates; tentacles with smooth and granular rods. Size: Maximum length about 35 cm, commonly to about 18 cm; mean live weight about 0.1 kg (up to 0.4 kg); body-wall thickness about 2 mm. Habitat, biology, and fisheries: A reef species, mostly found in shallow areas from near the surface to a depth of 15 m; generally occurs on reef flats and upper slopes. Populations reaching high densities on hard substrates, with a mean of around 0.04/m2. Shallow-water populations are generally smaller in size than those found in deeper waters. Biology poorly known. Probably harvested in some artisanal fisheries of the area. Collected by hand at low tide, or by divers. The processed product is of low commercial value. Distribution: Widespread in the tropical Indo-Pacific, excluding the Persian Gulf and Hawaii. Order Aspidochirotida - Stichopodidae 1187

Stichopus horrens Selenka, 1867 Frequent synonyms / misidentifications: Stichopus godeffroyi Semper, 1868 / None. FAO names: En - Selenka’s . anus terminal

calcareous ring

irregular warts spicule of tentacles mouth ventral, with papillae and 18 tentacles

spicules of podia spicules of papillae spicules of tegument (after Féral and Cherbonnier, 1986)

Diagnostic characters: Body firm, rigid, squarish in cross-section, flattened ventrally (trivium); body wall easily disintegrates outside sea water. Bivium covered with irregular warts, arranged in 10 longitudinal rows; warts larger near mouth. Trivium delimited by a characteristic double row of large papillae (4 to 5 mm); stout podia arranged in 4 rows, on 3 radial bands, their disc about 350 µm in diameter. Mouth ventral, surrounded by a half row of papillae and 18 brown, short tentacles. Anus terminal. Calcareous ring with a deeply indented radial pieces and triangular interradials. Cuvierian tubules absent. Colour: bivium whitish to grey, with brown irregular dots; trivium lighter. Spicules: very characteristic rosettes, X-shaped, or elongate, numerous in the tegument; presence of numerous C-shaped spicules of 3 sizes; ventral tegument with tables of 2 sizes; some tables have a circular disc with 4 central and about 15 peripheral holes, bearing a spire with 4 pillars ending in a moderately spiny and cross-shaped crown; tables with a larger disc also present, more perforated, with a higher, spiny crown; only the first kind of table found in the dorsal tegument; tables in papillae provided with large multiperforated disc, with a long, conical, smooth spire, ending in a single point; ventral papillae containing long, smooth rods; ventral podia have long rods, with a central apophysis, and large, elongate, multiperforated plates; tentacles with large rods, either curved with few spines, or straight and very spiny. Size: Maximum length about 40 cm, commonly to about 20 cm; mean live weight about 0.2 kg (up to 0.5 kg); body-wall thickness about 2 mm. Habitat, biology, and fisheries: A reef species, mostly found in shallow areas from near the surface to a depth of 15 m; generally occurs in rubbles, or hidden in reef flats. A nocturnal species. Populations not reaching high densities, with a mean of around 0.007/m2. Biology poorly known. Probably not harvested, as the tegument disintegrates too quickly. An aquaculture programme for this species is presently being carried out, for stock enhancement purposes. Distribution: Widespread in the tropical Indo-Pacific. 1188 Holothurians

Stichopus variegatus Semper, 1868 FAO names: En - Curryfish; Fr - Trépang curry. Frequent synonyms / misidentifications: None / None. papillae

calcareous ring

mouth ventral, anus with papillae and terminal 20 tentacles conical warts spicules of papillae

spicules of tegument spicules of tentacles spicules of podia (after Féral and Cherbonnier, 1986)

Diagnostic characters: Body firm, rigid, squarish in cross-section, flattened ventrally (trivium). Body wall easily disintegrates outside sea water. Bivium covered with irregular conical warts, arranged in 8 longitudinal rows, with smaller papillae in between. Trivium with yellow to pink podia, arranged in rows on the radii, their disc about 380 µm in diameter.Mouth ventral, surrounded by a circle of conical papillae and 20 yellowish tentacles. Anus terminal. Calcareous ring with a deeply indented radial pieces and small interradials. Cuvierian tubules absent. Colour: variable on bivium, yellow to greenish, with black spots; trivium lighter. Spicules: tables in the tegument with 2 forms of discs, some being undulated, with 8 to 20 holes, while others form a denticulate disc with 4 central holes and a variable number of peripheral holes; spire of tables with 4 pillars ending in a moderately spiny and perforated crown; some tables with large disc and irregular crown also present; tables in papillae have a very large multiperforated disc; rosettes cross-shaped, branching; X-shaped spicules occur in 3 different sizes; ventral podia with spiny rods and large multiperforated plates showing pentagonal holes; tentacles with long, narrow, and spiny rods and X-, S-, and C-shaped small spicules. Size: Maximum length about 50 cm, commonly to about 35 cm; mean live weight about 1 kg (up to 2.5 kg); body-wall thickness about 8 mm. Habitat, biology, and fisheries: A shallow-water species, found in coastal reefs and lagoons, mostly from near the surface to a depth of 25 m. Generally occurs in seagrass beds, rubbles, and muddy-sand bottoms. Populations not reaching high densities, with a mean of around 0.005/m2. Sexual reproduction takes place during the warm season. A species with a low potential fecundity and late sexual maturity. Probably rarely collected as the tegument disintegrates very easily, resulting in a low commercial value of the species. Distribution: Widespread in the tropical Indo-Pacific, excluding Hawaii. Order Aspidochirotida - Stichopodidae 1189

Thelenota ananas (Jaeger, 1833) Frequent synonyms / misidentifications: None / None. FAO names: En - Prickly redfish; Fr - Holothurie ananas. anus lobate papillae terminal

calcareous ring

mouth ventral, with a circle of trivium bordered by large papillae papillae and 20 large tentacles

spicules of podia

spicules of tentacles spicules of tegument (after Féral and Cherbonnier, 1986)

Diagnostic characters: Body firm, rigid, flattened ventrally (trivium). Bivium entirely covered with characteristic, large, leaf-shaped, lobate papillae. Trivium with brown to pink podia, more numerous on the radii, their disc about 400 µm in diameter. Mouth ventral, surrounded by a circle of conical papillae which are larger on dorsal side, and 20 large, brown tentacles. Anus terminal. Calcareous ring with large radial pieces and narrow interradials. Cuvierian tubules absent. Colour: variable on bivium, reddish orange to brown; trivium generally red; mature gonads deep purple. Spicules: tegument with cross-shaped spicules, spiny branched spicules (sometimes with median pillar), perforated plates, pseudo-tables, and grains; branched spicules larger in dorsal tegument and papillae; ventral podia with branched spicules, long rods, and large, multiperforated plates; tentacles with characteristic branched spicules, in form of a “rose-window”. Size: Maximum length about 80 cm, commonly to about 45 cm; mean live weight about 2.5 kg (up to 7 kg); body-wall thickness about 15 mm. Habitat, biology, and fisheries: A common reef species, mostly found from near the surface to a depth of 25 m; generally occurs on hard bottoms, large rubble and coral patches, on reef slopes and near passes. Populations not reaching very high densities, with a mean of around 0.003/m2. Sexual reproduction takes place during the warm season. A species with a low potential fecundity and late sexual maturity. Symbiotic pearlfish (Carapidae, Ophidiiformes) are often found in its general cavity. Harvested by hand. Collected by skin diving or using diving gear (if not not banned), making the popula- tions very vulnerable, due to overexploitation. The pro- cessed product is of major quality and the demand is still high. Distribution: Widespread in the tropical Indo-Pacific, excluding Hawaii. 1190 Holothurians

Thelenota anax Clark, 1921 mouth ventral, Frequent synonyms / misidentifications: None / None. with 18 brown FAO names: En - Amber fish. tentacles conical papillae

calcareous ring

anus with large row of papillae between 5 teeth bivium and trivium

spicule of papillae

spicules of tegument spicules of podia spicules of tentacles (after Féral and Cherbonnier, 1986)

Diagnostic characters: Body firm, rigid, squarish in cross-section, flattened ventrally (trivium). Bivium entirely covered with numerous characteristic, conical papillae and minute podia; bivium demarcated from the trivium by a row of large papillae. Podia numerous on trivium, with large disc, about 600 µm in diameter. Mouth ventral, surrounded by a circle of 18 large brown tentacles. Anus terminal. Calcareous ring with large radial pieces and narrow interradials. Cuvierian tubules absent. Cloaca large. Colour: bivium cream, with large beige dots; trivium generally beige; mature gonads deep purple. Spicules: tegument with branched spicules showing polygonal holes, and spicules in form of a “rose window”, mostly abundant in the tentacles; tentacles also with straight, curved, or X-shaped rods; ventral podia with short, smooth rods; dorsal papillae with sparse, very long, spiny rods. Size: Maximum length about 80 cm, commonly to about 55 cm; mean live weight about 3.5 kg (up to 6 kg); body-wall thickness about 15 mm. Habitat, biology, and fisheries: A rare reef species, mostly found at depths between 10 and 30 m; generally occurs on hard grounds, large rubbles and sand patches, on reef slopes, outer lagoon and near passes. Populations not reaching high densities, with a mean of around 0.001/m2. Biology poorly known. Rarely harvested until few years ago, being generally found in low densities. Collected by skin diving or using diving gear (if not banned), making the populations presently very vulnerable, due to overexploitation. The processed product is probably of low to moderate commercial value and the exploitation of this species should be avoided. Distribution: In the tropical Indian Ocean known from the Glorieuses Islands; in the tropical Pacific, from northern Australia to Enewetok, Guam, the China Sea, and the Ryukyu Islands southwards to New Caledonia, Fiji, and the Society Islands.

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