WEBVTT

00:00:08.929 --> 00:00:10.550
That looks like Enypniastes to me.

00:00:11.270 --> 00:00:12.580
Enypniastes eximia.

00:00:12.780 --> 00:00:14.870
You can see him feeding. Oh my god, how adorable.

00:00:16.384 --> 00:00:19.800
These tentacles, which are modified tube feet, scoop in the sediment,

00:00:20.000 --> 00:00:26.900
and they are only taking in material from the surface of the sediment, which is higher in organic material.

00:00:31.322 --> 00:00:36.170
They're benthic, but the do spend a large portion of their life up in the water column,

00:00:36.370 --> 00:00:41.730
whether that is to get somewhere much faster --oop, getting rid of his poop just before he lifted off.

00:00:42.261 --> 00:00:45.090
And that's something that these holothurians are known to do,

00:00:45.290 --> 00:00:49.010
they drop as much weight as they can just before they lift off.

00:00:49.546 --> 00:00:54.490
But here you can see that it's either trying to get somewhere more quickly or, more likely, trying to evade a predator,

00:00:54.690 --> 00:00:56.980
and that's probably what it makes of D2.

00:01:04.000 --> 00:01:06.820
The name Enypniastes means dreamer.

00:01:07.749 --> 00:01:12.220
So dreamer is certainly an apt name for the way that sea cucumbers swim.

00:01:13.771 --> 00:01:20.350
Bob Carney tells us that in addition to the name dreamer, common names include the Spanish dancer and,

00:01:20.550 --> 00:01:27.640
apparently a favorite among Gulf of Mexico industry ROV pilots, the headless chicken monster.

00:01:29.261 --> 00:01:32.020
I just think it makes no sense. What part of that looks like a headless chicken?