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Hundreds of Sea Cumbers or Sea Slugs Washed up After Cornish Storm!

1,414 views · Published 16 February 2014 · 1:10 · Indexed 6 October 2026

Channel: StreetZips · 2014 · Pets & Animals

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I went down the coast today to survey the damage after the storm. I didn't bother posting the whole film because you had to know the place well to see how many cliff falls there were.

On my adventure I found this strange creature washed up. Upon closer inspection I found many more of them - I can only assume they were ripped off the sea floor like the thousands of seaweed stalks and dumped up on the beach.
I put as many as I could back into the sea, but I think it might have been too late to save them.

INFORMATION I FOUND:
Sea cucumbers are echinoderms—like starfish and sea urchins. There are some 1,250 known species, and many of these animals are indeed shaped like soft-bodied cucumbers. All sea cucumbers are ocean dwellers, though some inhabit the shallows and others live in the deep ocean. They live on or near the ocean floor—sometimes partially buried beneath it.

Sea cucumbers feed on tiny particles like algae, minute aquatic animals, or waste materials, which they gather in with 8 to 30 tube feet that look like tentacles surrounding their mouths. The animals break down these particles into even smaller pieces, which become fodder for bacteria, and thus recycle them back into the ocean ecosystem. Earthworms perform a similar function in terrestrial ecosystems.

Sea cucumbers, particularly eggs and young larvae, are prey for fish and other marine animals. They are also enjoyed by humans, especially in Asia, and some species are farmed as delicacies.

When threatened, some sea cucumbers discharge sticky threads to ensnare their enemies. Others can mutilate their own bodies as a defence mechanism. They violently contract their muscles and jettison some of their internal organs out of their anus. The missing body parts are quickly regenerated.

Sea cucumbers can breed sexually or asexually. Sexual reproduction is more typical, but the process is not very intimate. The animals release both eggs and sperm into the water and fertilization occurs when they meet. There must be many individuals in a sea cucumber population for this reproductive method to be successful. Indeed, many parts of the deep ocean host large herds of these ancient animals, grazing on the microscopic bounty of marine waters.

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