About Euapta lappa (J.Müller, 1850)
Euapta lappa, commonly called the beaded sea cucumber, looks more like a long worm than a typical sea cucumber. It can grow up to one metre in length, with a maximum diameter of 4 cm. This species repeatedly lengthens and shortens its body; when disturbed, its normally flaccid body retracts sharply to just a small fraction of its original length. It has no internal respiratory tree and no tube feet, and its body surface is covered in rounded ridges. Its skeleton is made up of many tiny calcareous plates embedded in the outer cuticle. Small hooks project out from these ossicles, giving the body a sticky feel when touched. At the anterior, or front end of the animal, there is a ring of fifteen branched feeding tentacles. Its body colour is pale brown or grey, often marked with white flecks, darker longitudinal streaks, or transverse banding. The beaded sea cucumber occurs in the Caribbean Sea, the Bahamas, Jamaica, Cuba, the Gulf of Mexico, Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama, the Lesser Antilles, and the Canary Islands. It inhabits reefs at depths down to approximately 30 metres, and hides among boulders and coral debris during the day.
