name: Sea Cucumber

flavor_db_name_variants: sea cucumber

source: foodb

status: draft

food_db_id: Sea cucumber

id: 464

name_scientific: Parastichopus californicus

description: They are marine animals with a leathery skin and an elongated body containing a single, branched gonad. Sea cucumbers are found on the sea floor worldwide. The number of holothurian species worldwide is about 1250 with the greatest number being in the Asia Pacific region. Many of these are gathered for human consumption and some species are cultivated in aquaculture systems. The harvested product is variously referred to as trepang, bêche-de-mer or balate. Sea cucumbers serve a useful purpose in the marine ecosystem as they help recycle nutrients, breaking down detritus and other organic matter after which bacteria can continue the degradation process. Like all echinoderms, sea cucumbers have an endoskeleton just below the skin, calcified structures that are usually reduced to isolated microscopic ossicles (or sclerietes) joined by connective tissue. In some species these can sometimes be enlarged to flattened plates, forming an armour. In pelagic species such as Pelagothuria natatrix (Order Elasipodida, family Pelagothuriidae), the skeleton and a calcareous ring are absent. The sea cucumbers are named for their resemblance to the vegetable cucumber, but are not related to the Cucumis sativus vine.

itis_id: 158344

wikipedia_id: Sea cucumber

picture_file_name: 474.jpg

picture_content_type: image/jpeg

picture_file_size: 83363

picture_updated_at: 2012-04-20T09:41:53.000Z

legacy_id: 501

food_group: Aquatic foods

food_subgroup: Other aquatic foods

food_type: Type 1

created_at: 2011-02-09T00:37:43.000Z

updated_at: 2019-05-14T18:05:25.000Z

creator_id: null

updater_id: null

export_to_afcdb: false

category: specific

ncbi_taxonomy_id: 7689

export_to_foodb: true

public_id: FOOD00464