Holothuria hilla
Taxonomical systematics
Scientific name
Holothuria (Thymiosycia) hilla Lesson, 1830
Common names
Sea Cucumber, Tiger Tail
Subgenus
Thymiosycia
Genus
Holothuria
Family
Holothuriidae
Order
Aspidochirotida
Class
Holothuroidea
Phylum
Echinodermata
Local ecology
Distribution
Oceania, Tropical Western Pacific, Great Barrier Reef, Northern and Western Indian Ocean, Red Sea.
Biological characteristics
Holothuria hilla in the aquarium.
Close up of Holothuria hilla showing feeding tentacles in sand.
Close up of Holothuria hilla showing feeding tentacles exposed.
Holothuria hilla after transverse fission in the aquarium. The anterior end is new.
Captive care
Feeding
Sediment feeders: mainly living diatoms, bacteria and detritus (Uthicke and Karez, 1999).
Reproduction
Sexual reproduction mode
Broadcast spawning (Uthicke et al, 2001)
Sexes
Seperate
Asexual methods
Transverse fission (Personal observation).
References
Uthicke S. and Karez R. 1999. Sediment patch selectivity in tropical sea cucumbers (Holothurioidea: Aspidochirotida) analysed with multiple choice experiments. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 236:69-87.
Uthicke S., Conand C. and Benzie J.A.H. 2001. Population genetics of the fissiparous holothurians Stichopus chloronotus and Holothuria atra (Aspidochirotida): a comparison between the Torres Strait and La Réunion. Mar. Biol. 139:257-265 .