About Lissothuria nutriens (Clark, 1901)
The dorsal surface of Lissothuria nutriens is bright red-orange, with small white tube feet distributed evenly across it. Its ventral surface (foot) is pinkish, and bears rows of white tube feet. This species reaches approximately 2 cm in total size. Around its mouth, it has 2 small and 8 large pinkish-red dendritic tentacles, and a small number of plates are present in the flesh surrounding the mouth. Lissothuria nutriens occurs from Monterey Bay to Southern California, with populations also recorded as far north as Point Arena-Stornetta Public Lands. It can be found clinging to or moving across rocky substrates, or occupying sandy areas between algal holdfasts, at depths ranging from the low intertidal zone down to 20 meters. Observations recorded on iNaturalist also note that this species can be found growing on various types of algae. For reproduction, Lissothuria nutriens broods a small number of large eggs by moving the eggs to pits located on its dorsal surface. As a member of the order Dendrochirotida, the eggs of this species contain enough energy to support full larval development without external feeding.
