Australasian Brown Sea Cucumber

Australostichopus mollis

Other invertebrates
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth5–1,005 m
Water temperature8–21 °C
Best monthsMarch, May, and November
How commonOccasional

About this species

Australostichopus is a genus of sea cucumbers in the family Stichopodidae. It is monotypic, being represented by the single species Australostichopus mollis, commonly known as the brown sea cucumber or Australasian sea cucumber. This species has stimulated interest for its fishery potential in the Southern Hemisphere, and for its capability to reduce waste produced by aquaculture. Despite its ecological role and abundance in New Zealand coastal waters, the scarcity of knowledge regarding A. mollis biology and ecology has hindered the development of a stable fishery industry. Importantly, A. mollis represents promising business potential within an important Asian market. Recently its potential as a functional food has been evaluated, highlighting the nutritious components

Text from the Wikipedia article “Australostichopus”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

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Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 32 records
February: 44 records
March: 60 records
April: 60 records
May: 67 records
June: 51 records
July: 34 records
August: 24 records
September: 35 records
October: 51 records
November: 69 records
December: 43 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 5–1,005 m · Deepest record: 1,317 m

0–10 m: 353 records
10–20 m: 71 records
20–30 m: 22 records
30–40 m: 23 records
40–50 m: 33 records
50–60 m: 28 records
60–70 m: 24 records
70–80 m: 33 records
80–90 m: 35 records
90–100 m: 29 records
100–110 m: 30 records
110+ m: 766 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 8–21 °C

6–8 °C: 8 records
8–10 °C: 76 records
10–12 °C: 79 records
12–14 °C: 215 records
14–16 °C: 236 records
16–18 °C: 37 records
18–20 °C: 7 records
20–22 °C: 3 records

Names and classification

English: Australasian Brown Sea Cucumber, Australasian sea cucumber, Brown mottled sea cucumber, Gold-tip® sea cucumber, New Zealand Sea Cucumber

Names in 1 more languages

Spanish: Pepino De Mar

Other scientific names: Holothuria mollis, Holothuria robsoni, Holothuria victoriae, Neostichopus mollis, Stichopus mollis, Stichopus simulans, Stichopus sordidus

Similar species

California sea cucumber
Apostichopus californicus
Japanese sea cucumber
Apostichopus japonicus
Greenfish
Stichopus chloronotus
Dragonfish
Stichopus horrens
Pineapplefish
Thelenota ananas
Amberfish
Thelenota anax

Sources and credits

Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
1,985 open-data records from 1891 to 2023.

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