About Holothuria fuscopunctata Jaeger, 1833
This large sea cucumber species, Holothuria fuscopunctata, reaches a maximum length of 70 cm (28 in), while its more typical length is approximately half this maximum size. Individuals can weigh up to 4.5 kg (10 lb). It has a thick golden-brown body wall marked with darker spots and dark brown wrinkles. Its underside is whitish, the mouth is surrounded by twenty thick brown tentacles, and a black band encircles the anus. The cloaca is large and black, and this species has no Cuvierian tubules. Holothuria fuscopunctata has a wide distribution across the tropical Indo-Pacific. Its range stretches from Madagascar and the eastern coast of Africa to Japan, China, Australia, the Mariana Islands, Palau, and New Caledonia. It occurs at depths down to a maximum of 30 m (100 ft). It is common in some portions of its range, but is scarce in the Philippines, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Marshall Islands. Along the African coast, it mostly lives on sandy seabeds and in seagrass meadows. In the Central Pacific, it mostly occurs on reef slopes and coral rubble, though it also inhabits seagrass beds.
