Actinopyga palauensis
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Actinopyga palauensis | |
|---|---|
_in_shallow_reef_(Niue).jpg) | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Echinodermata |
| Class: | Holothuroidea |
| Order: | Holothuriida |
| Family: | Holothuriidae |
| Genus: | Actinopyga |
| Species: | A. palauensis |
| Binomial name | |
| Actinopyga palauensis Panning, 1944 | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Actinopyga palauensis, the Panning's blackfish, is a species of sea cucumber within the family Holothuriidae.[2] The species distribution is in the western Pacific near areas such as Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia, Tonga, Niue, eastern Australia, and New Caledonia.[1] It lives in reef environments at depths up to 30 meters, often being found crawling on sandy reef slopes, course sand with reef rubble, semi-sheltered bay reefs, and is occasionally found in lagoons and inshore reefs.[3][4]
Actinopyga palauensis is blackish-brown in coloration, but appears entirely black at depth, with a bumpy texture and small sparces of papillae. The teeth are orange and noticeably rough. It grows to a max length of 40 centimeters, but individuals are more commonly found at 30 centimetres (12 in). It can weigh up to 500 grams (18 oz). The max reported age of an individual was 6 years.[3][5]