This sea cucumber was observed at 3,385 meters (11,106 feet) depth during Dive 15 of the 2021 North Atlantic Stepping Stones expedition. The digestive tract of this particular sea cucumber is visible through its translucent pink body. Sea cucumbers use their tube feet to wander around the seafloor and eat sediment. They are able to derive nutrients attached to sediments, and the undigested sediment is expelled from their digestive tract; living up to the name that these sea cucumbers are sometimes called the vacuum cleaners of the sea.
Sea Cucumber
Image courtesy of NOAA Ocean Exploration, 2021 North Atlantic Stepping Stones: New England and Corner Rise Seamounts. Download larger version (jpg, 1.7 MB).

This sea cucumber was observed at 3,385 meters (11,106 feet) depth during Dive 15 of the 2021 North Atlantic Stepping Stones expedition. The digestive tract of this particular sea cucumber is visible through its translucent pink body. Sea cucumbers use their tube feet to wander around the seafloor and eat sediment. They are able to derive nutrients attached to sediments, and the undigested sediment is expelled from their digestive tract; living up to the name that these sea cucumbers are sometimes called the vacuum cleaners of the sea.

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