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Snake Sea Cucumber

Synapta maculata

  • Other invertebrates
  • IUCN: Not evaluated
  • Usual depth1–8 m
  • Water temperature26–30 °C
  • Best monthsMarch, April, and May
  • How commonOccasional
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About this species

Synapta maculata, the snake sea cucumber, is a species of sea cucumber in the family Synaptidae. It is found in shallow waters in the tropical Indo-Pacific Ocean. Sometimes growing as long as 3 m (10 ft), it is one of the longest sea cucumbers in the world.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Synapta maculata”, 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: 1 records
  • February: 0 records
  • March: 9 records
  • April: 6 records
  • May: 6 records
  • June: 4 records
  • July: 2 records
  • August: 4 records
  • September: 4 records
  • October: 5 records
  • November: 4 records
  • December: 0 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 1–8 m · Deepest record: 208 m

  • 0–10 m: 11 records
  • 10–20 m: 0 records
  • 20–30 m: 0 records
  • 30–40 m: 0 records
  • 40–50 m: 0 records
  • 50–60 m: 0 records
  • 60–70 m: 0 records
  • 70–80 m: 0 records
  • 80–90 m: 0 records
  • 90–100 m: 0 records
  • 100–110 m: 0 records
  • 110+ m: 1 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 26–30 °C

  • 24–26 °C: 3 records
  • 26–28 °C: 24 records
  • 28–30 °C: 40 records

Names and classification

English
Snake Sea Cucumber
Names in 5 more languages
German
Gefleckte Wurmseegurke
French
Synapte maculée
Japanese
オオイカリナマコ
Thai
ปลิงสร้อยลูกปัด
Simplified Chinese
斑錨參

Other scientific names: Fistularia doreyana, Holothuria (Fistularia) oceanica, Holothuria (Tiedemannia) beselii, Holothuria maculata, Oncinolabes fuscescans, Synapta agassizii, Synapta astrolabi, Synapta beselii, Synapta mammillosa, Synapta oceanica

Similar species

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).
  • 335 open-data records from 1821 to 2026.

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