Photograph by Roger Steene

These beautiful sea cucumbers are usualy found only at the base of reefs and are members of the Dendrochirotida family. They are almost exclusively filter feeders and have enlarged tentacles with branching dendritic ends. The rows of yellow tube feet of this species can clearly be seen against the crimson body wall. The feeding tentacles capture minute organic particles, such as diatoms, and transfer them to the central mouth where the food is wiped off and the tentacle is recoated with mucus.

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