• Graeffe’s Sea Cucumber (Pearsonothuria graeffei) is found in the tropical Indo-Pacific Ocean.
• Pearsonothuria graeffei is a scavenger and roams around on the seabed sifting through sediment with its feeding tentacles.
• Pearsonothuria graeffei is a roughly cylindrical, thin-walled sea cucumber that grows to about 12 inches in length.
• Its mouth is surrounded by a ring of up to 24 leaf-like, paddle-shaped tentacles with stalks which are black on the upper side and white beneath.
• It is found on seabeds and coral reefs at depths to 82 feet.

Graeffe’s Sea Cucumber is also known as the Black and White Sea Cucumber, Blackmouth Sea Cucumber, Black Spotted Sea Cucumber, Leopard Sea Cucumber, Stichel Sea Cucumber, Striated Sea Cucumber, Striped Sea Cucumber and a few more names. You’ll find that marine life has different name depending on the region your visiting.

More images from the Maldives can be found here.

Additional Wildlife Wednesday videos and photographs can be found here.

Here’s a link to my current underwater camera set-up.