Leopard Sea Cucumber, Holothuria pardalis

Leopard Sea Cucumber, Holothuria pardalis. Fairly common in the tidal pools of the greater Los Cabos area of Baja California Sur. Length: 13 cm (5.1 inches).

Phylogeny:  The Leopard Sea Cucumber, Holothuria  (Lessonothuria) pardalis (Selenka, 1867), is a member of the Holothuriidae Family of Sea Cucumbers. The genus Holothuria is one of five genera in this family. There are about one hundred and sixty species in the Holothuria genus.  In Mexico they are known as Pepino de Mar.

Morphology:   Leopard Sea Cucumbers have a spindle-shaped body that is thin and flexible. Their body wall is thick and leathery, with ossicles (tiny, calcified rods or tables under the skin). Their tube feet form a noticeable sole on their relatively flat lower surface. They are arched above. Leopard Sea Cucumbers have short, flattened, branched, tentacles around their mouth. These oral tentacles capture food and transport it to the mouth.  They are mottled gray, light brown and white in color. Most specimens have a paired series of dark spots along their dorsal surface. They are a relatively small sea cucumber, reaching a maximum of 12 cm (4.7 inches) in length.

Habitat and Distribution:   Leopard Sea Cucumbers are found under rocks, on reef flats, on sand and mud, and in sea grass beds. They live intertidally, and to depths of 127 m (417 feet), though some sources extend their maximum depths to 307 m (1,000 feet). They are found throughout the Indo-pacific and tropical Eastern Pacific. In Mexican Waters they range from Loreto, Baja California Sur south to Guatemala.

Diet:  Leopard Sea Cucumbers are depositional scavengers, gathering food from the surface of the substrate. They filter sand through their digestive tracts, removing food from the sand as it passes through. They primarily eat diatoms, algae, and detritus.

Predators:  Leopard Sea Cucumbers are preyed upon by crustaceans, fish, mollusks, starfish, and sea turtles.

Reproduction: Leopard Sea Cucumbers are gonochoric (male or female for life). Reproduction is sexual, with external fertilization. The fertilized eggs hatch into  planktonic larvae. The larvae pass through a few different stages before metamorphosing into their adult, benthic, form.

Ecosystem Interactions:  Leopard Sea Cucumbers are known to host bacteria, endoparasitic  metazoans, and protozoans. In the Indo-pacific the Imperial Shrimp, Zenopontonia rex, is an epibiont on Leopard Sea Cucumbers; similar behavior has not been documented in the Eastern Pacific. Like many sea cucumbers, the Leopard Sea Cucumber play an important role in maintaining the health of soft substrate habitats. Their movement plows the surface of the substrate, allowing for food and oxygen to penetrate deeper into the substrate.

Human Interactions:  Leopard Sea Cucumbers are an important fishery and food source for some Asian countries. They are less targeted in the Eastern Pacific. From a  conservation perspective the Leopard Sea Cucumbers is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable, widely distributed populations.

Synonyms:  Holothuria peregrina, Holothuria tenuicornis, and Lessonothuria pardali.