Researchers have shared a fascinating video of a deep-sea “homebody” that escapes the clutches of predators by… doing nothing: the armoured sea cucumber.
“Deep beneath the ocean’s surface, this homebody holds tight to the rocky seafloor,” says narrator Cassy Burrier in Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI)’s video.
“While most other sea cucumbers meander across the seafloor, the armoured sea cucumber (Psolus squamatus) is a sedentary species.”
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It lives between 40 and 1,400 metres deep, where life is tough. Grasping onto the seafloor using the underside of its body to create suction, it could be a sitting duck for predators. To protect itself, it’s covered in hard scales.
“A low profile and muted colour help too,” says Burrier. “With their tentacles tucked in, Psolus looks like a rock to a crab that walks past.”
Thankfully, it doesn’t need to move to find its own meal. “A hungry armoured sea cucumber orders room service from the currents that sweep along the seafloor,” she says.
To find food, this alien-like animal waves its tentacles in the water. These are covered in a sticky mucus that helps it catch plankton and other tiny organisms that float past.
Sadly, though, this enigmatic echinoderm can’t tell the difference between plankton and plastic so it’s under threat from microplastics that collect in the deep sea. “We need to turn off plastic pollution at the tap by using less plastic and choosing reusable alternatives instead,” says MBARI.
Image and video credit: MBARI (Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute)
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