Aslia lefevrei

Climbing sea-cucumber

   Aslia lefevrei is a sea-cucumber of up to 15 cm long but only its bushy tentacles of 5 cm long are visible emerging from rock rifts. The cylindrical body is thus hidden and protected from predators. Body and tentacles are whitish to brownish. Food particles stick on the tentacles which are, one after the other, brought into the mouth and licked to take off the food. It can be solitary but generally lives in groups.
It is found from surface to 20 m deep in the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel and the Mediterranean Sea.

Classification

 (source : European Register of Marine Species)

• Echinodermata [Phylum]
• Echinozoa [Subphylum]
• Holothuroidea [Class]
• Dendrochirotacea [Subclass]
• Dendrochirotida [Order]
• Cucumariidae [Family]
• Aslia lefevrei (Barrois, 1882)

Page glossary

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Authors

Top photograph :
© Wilfried Bay-Nouailhat. Published with author's kind permission : 
Aslia lefevrei, Bay of Concarneau, South-Brittany, West of France. Depth 8 meters.
Text :  Anne Bay-Nouailhat © 2005-2009.
Translation :  Anne Bay-Nouailhat © 2007-2009.

How to cite this page in publications

Bay-Nouailhat A., September 2005, Description of Aslia lefevrei, Available on line at http://www.european-marine-life.org/30/aslia-lefevrei.php, consulted on 04 July 2009.
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