Leptosynapta bergensis | |
---|---|
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Echinodermata |
Class: | Holothuroidea |
Order: | Apodida |
Family: | Synaptidae |
Genus: | Leptosynapta |
Species: | L. bergensis
|
Binomial name | |
Leptosynapta bergensis (
Östergren, 1905)
| |
Synonyms [1] | |
|
Leptosynapta bergensis is a species of sea cucumber of the family Synaptidae. [2] [3]
This species of holothurian is pink with longitudinal muscle-bands and a slender and soft body. It has twelve pinnate tentacles and no tube-feet. Each tentacle has 8–11 pairs of digits. It grows to 10–30 cm (3.9–11.8 in). [4]
It can be found on all coasts of Great Britain and Ireland and Scandinavia; [5] it is common in Strangford Lough. [4] [6] It is generally found further north than Leptosynapta inhaerens. [7]
Leptosynapta bergensis lives from low on shore to over 100 m (330 ft) deep, buried in muddy sand. [8]
Leptosynapta bergensis is gonochoric and has only one gonad. Spawning and fertilization both happen externally. Embryos develop into planktotrophic larvae ( auricularia), then into doliolaria (barrel-shaped) and then metamorphose into juvenile sea cucumbers. [9]