Diversity of Black-Surface Sea Cucumbers in the Gulf of Thailand and Andaman Sea
Abstract
Sea cucumbers are marine invertebrates in class Holothuroidea of phylum Echinodermata. They have an important role in marine ecosystems and socioeconomy as decomposers of important organic substances in the sea and they are in demand of marine foods and marine drugs. Black sea cucumbers in the Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman Sea are diverse, common and often complicated in species identification. This study aimed to collected black-surface sea cucumbers and identified them taxonomically by collecting specimens from the Institute of Marine Science, Burapha University. More samples were collected from the Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman Sea at 10 stations from March to May 2022. Sea cucumber samples were taken for biopsy to determine the characteristics of the ossicles used in species identification. The results revealed 3 orders, 4 families, 6 genera and 13 species of black sea cucumbers. Three species of sea cucumbers were found in the Gulf of Thailand, namely Holothuria flavomaculata, H. notabilis and Stolus buccalis and 5 species were observed in the Andaman sea: Actinopyga caerulea, A. miliaris, Bohadshia atra, H. erinacea and H. cinerascens. In addition, 5 species were found in both the Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman Sea: H. atra, H. pardalis, H. leucospilota, Stichopus chloronotus and Mensamaria intercedens.References
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