Sea Cucumbers

Description:

Sea cucumbers are usually black, brown, or olive green. They have bumpy, leathery skin, embedded with bony particles. Some-sea cucumbers have tiny tube feet along the length of their body. (Tube feet are hollow, muscular projections that are used in locomotion.) Those species that lack tube feet creep about the sea floor by muscular movements of the body. Some sea cucumbers hide in grassy beds and others burrow in mud and sand. At one end of the body is a mouth surrounded by 10 to 30 food-gathering tentacles. The sea cucumber feeds on tiny marine animals and other organic matter.

Habitat:

Located at the edge of the Catalina Casino building, the Casino Point Marine Park is Southern California's first city-designated underwater park. Established in 1965 by the City of Avalon as a reserve, Casino Point Marine Park has an abundance of marine life, giant kelp forests, and several shipwrecks to explore. Several artificial reefs have been established to provide additional habitats.