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October 30, 2021: Sea Cucumber

While exploring a site dubbed “Explorer Ridge” during the 2016 Deepwater Exploration of the Marianas expedition, scientists came across this purple holothurian, or sea cucumber, measuring almost 20 centimeters (7.9 inches) in length, resting on the seafloor.

Image courtesy of NOAA Ocean Exploration, 2016 Deepwater Exploration of the Marianas. Download larger version (jpg, 1.0 MB).

While exploring a site dubbed “Explorer Ridge” during the 2016 Deepwater Exploration of the Marianas expedition, scientists came across this purple holothurian, or sea cucumber, measuring almost 20 centimeters (7.9 inches) in length, resting on the seafloor. While they were able to identify it as belonging to the order Synallactida, they could not identify it further and believe it may be an unknown and undescribed species.