Biology:Stichopodidae

Stichopodidae
	Thelenota ananas
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Echinodermata
Class:	Holothuroidea
Order:	Synallactida
Family:	Stichopodidae; Haeckel, 1896
Genera
	See text
Synonyms
	Stichopoda Haeckel, 1896;

Short description: Family of sea cucumbers

The Stichopodidae are a family of sea cucumbers, part of the order Synallactida.^[1]

Description

Members of this family are mostly large or medium-sized holothuroids with an angular body shape (almost forming a squarish cross-section), a flat ventral surface, and large, fleshy, cone-shaped projections. Their mouths are surrounded by 20 peltate tentacles. They are usually found on soft substrates, such as fine sand or very fine rubble.^[2]

A typical stichopodid (Stichopus herrmanni) — massive sea cucumber, angular in cross-section, with thick papillae looking like tubercles.

Genera

List of genera according to the World Register of Marine Species:

genus Apostichopus Liao, 1980 (8 species, North Pacific)
genus Astichopus Clark, 1922 (1 species, Caribbean)
genus Australostichopus Levin in Moraes et al., 2004 (1 species, New Zealand and southern Australia)
genus Eostichopus Cutress & Miller, 1982 (1 species, Caribbean)
genus Isostichopus Deichmann, 1958 (3 species, warm East Pacific and Atlantic)
genus Neostichopus Deichmann, 1948 (1 species, South Africa)
genus Parastichopus Clark, 1922 (2 species, Atlantic and North Pacific)
genus Stichopus Brandt, 1835 (13 species, Indo-Pacific)
genus Thelenota Brandt, 1835 (3 species, Indo-Pacific)