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sea cucumber
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Sea cucumber (Cucumaria frondosa) sea cucumber
examine a variety of echinoderm species such as starfish, basket star, sand dollar, and sea cucumber
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Sea cucumber (Cucumaria frondosa)
Sea cucumber (Cucumaria frondosa)

sea cucumber

echinoderm
Also known as: Holothurioidea, Holothuroidea, holothuroid
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sea cucumber, (class Holothuroidea), any of 1,200 species of marine invertebrates that constitute a class within the phylum Echinodermata. The soft cylindrical body, 2 to 200 cm (about 0.75 inch to 6.5 feet) long and 1 to 20 cm (0.4–8 inches) thick, is usually a dull, dark colour and often warty, thus resembling a cucumber. The internal skeleton is reduced to numerous distinctively shaped, tiny calcareous structures (ossicles) in the skin. Most species have five...

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