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November 1, 2021: Sea Cucumbers

During the Gulf of Mexico 2018 expedition, we encountered these two holothurians, or sea cucumbers, doing the two things we most often see holothurians doing — swimming in the water column and resting on the seafloor.

Image courtesy of NOAA Ocean Exploration, Gulf of Mexico 2018. Download larger version (jpg, 644 KB).

During the Gulf of Mexico 2018 expedition, we encountered these two holothurians, or sea cucumbers, doing the two things we most often see holothurians doing — swimming in the water column and resting on the seafloor. This particular dive took place in Perdido Canyon, which was identified as a high priority for exploration because this remote area had never been surveyed with deep-sea submersibles by the scientific community. Check out a video of the sea cucumbers in action (well, one of them is in action...).