Apostichopus californicus
California sea cucumber | Parastichopus californicus
Distribution
Description
Body length ranges from 25-40cm. Dorsal and lateral surfaces dark red, brown, or yellow with large conical papillae usually paler than the body surface and tipped with red. Tube feet are densely arranged on the ventral side, with three distinct pairs of rows. Similar species A. parvimenus extending south from Monterey Bay is chestnut brown dorsally, and much paler ventrally with black-tipped papillae.
Information
Max Size: N/A cm
Sea Temperature Range: -1.2-18.6°C
Depth: N/A
Habitat Generalization Index: N/A
Also referred to as the SGI (Species Generalisation Index), this describes the habitat niche breadth of the species. Species with values less than 15 are found in a relatively narrow range of reef habitat types (specialists), while those over 25 may be found on most hard substrates within their range (generalists). Learn more here.
Conservation and Rarity
IUCN Status: Least Concern
Occurrence: Widespread (82.1% of sites)
Occurrence describes how often the species is found on surveys within its distribution. It is calculated as the % of reef sites surveyed by RLS divers across all the ecoregions in which the species has been observed
Abundance: Many (14 per transect)
Abundance is calculated as the average number of individuals recorded per RLS transect, where present.
Edit by: Jo Schmid