Cuvierian tubules are clusters of fine tubes located at the base of the respiratory tree in some sea cucumbers in the genera Bohadschia, Holothuria and Pearsonothuria, all of which are included in the family Holothuriidae. The tubules can be discharged through the anus when the sea cucumber is stressed. They lengthen when they come into contact with seawater and become adhesive when they encounter objects, functioning as a form of defense against predators or sources of danger. They are named after the French zoologist Georges Cuvier, who first described them.[1]
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True Facts About The Sea Pig
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Sea Cucumbers | BLUE WORLD ACADEMY
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Defense In The Sea | JONATHAN BIRD'S BLUE WORLD
Transcription
Here we will explore true facts about the sea pig. Here is a picture of a land pig. As you can see they are virtually indistinguishable from the sea pig. One way to tell the difference is that bacon from a land pig tastes delicious while bacon from a sea pig tastes like a fish farted on a dirty beach cracker. Another way is to simply ask it whether it's a sea pig. If when you ask your mouth fills up with seawater then you're probably an idiot because the sea pig lives deep in the abyss of the ocean. The sea pig is a type of sea cucumber. This is stock video of a sea cucumber, which has been downloaded one time. By me. This is a picture of a land cucumber. As you can see, they are virtually identical. If you get confused, check to see if your cucumber is breathing through its anus. Because unlike land cucumbers, sea cucumbers breathe through their anuses. As you might have guessed, this is no ordinary run-of-the-mill commonplace anus. Sea cucumbers have a cloaca. Think of it as a multi-purpose orifice for breathing, pooping, mating and any other orifice-related needs you might have. Convenient. Not what I would have chosen personally. I'm quite happy with my arrangement I'm a man who likes a bit of distance between the breathing and the pooping. But no judgments. As my mother used to say, "A hole is a hole." Wow, in this context that really sounds pretty bad. Retraction. In any case, the many uses of the cloaca did not escape the pearlfish, which has formed a symbiotic relationship with the sea cucumber. It hides inside the sea cucumber's butt, where it feeds and gains protection. The sea cucumber, meanwhile, has a fish in its butt. Win-win. The sea cucumber has a remarkable defensive adaptation. When attacked, it violently contracts its muscles and jettisons its internal respiratory organs out of its anus in a process known as evisceration. Needless to say, the predator becomes confused. To understand this, imagine that you are getting mugged and in response you pulled your pants down, bent o-- actually, I don't think this really helps. Further down in the depths, the little-understood sea pig uses hydraulic pumps that inflate its legs full of water as it marches on the ocean floor in search of detritus and whale carcasses to eat. Because it is so mushy mushy, the sea pig is a host to parasites like small snails and crustaceans, which burrow into it and feed on its insides. Bummer. Fortunately, the sea pig doesn't really have a brain. So it probably doesn't care. Remember, if someone scares you, just bend over and fart your lungs all over that bastard. Who knows, it might just work. As my mother used to say, "Don't poke that pig, boy." In this context, it works perfectly. SEEAAA PIIIG. SEEAA PIIG.
Mode of action
There may be several hundred Cuvierian tubules which are attached to the left respiratory tree and lie freely in the coelomic fluid in the body cavity. When stressed, the sea cucumber faces away from the attacker and contracts its body wall muscles sharply. This causes the wall of the cloaca to tear and the anus to gape and the free ends of some of the tubes to be ejected. Water from the respiratory tree is forced into these tubules causing a rapid expansion and they elongate by up to 20 times their original length. They have great tensile strength and become sticky when they encounter any object. The adhesive is unique among marine invertebrates and a firm grip is obtained in under ten seconds.[2] The mass of threads can entangle and immobilize potential predators such as small fish or crabs. The threads become detached from the sea cucumber which crawls away.[2] The tubules are readily regenerated, a process that takes about 17 days in Holothuria leucospilota and five weeks in Holothuria forskali.[2] The tubules contain a toxic saponin called holothurin, which is also present in the body wall in some sea cucumber species.[3]
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Bohadschia vitiensis held in hand out of the water
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See also
References
- ^ Cuvier, Georges baron; Latreille, Pierre André (1831). The Animal Kingdom Arranged in Conformity with Its Organization: Volume 2. G. & C. & H. Carvill. p. 342.
Georges Cuvier sea cucumber.
- ^ a b c Flammang, Patrick; Ribesse, Jérôme; Jangoux, Michel (2002). "Biomechanics of Adhesion in Sea Cucumber Cuvierian Tubules (Echinodermata, Holothuroidea)". Integrative and Comparative Biology. 42 (6): 1107–1115. doi:10.1093/icb/42.6.1107. PMID 21680394.
- ^ Ruppert, Edward E.; Fox, Richard, S.; Barnes, Robert D. (2004). Invertebrate Zoology, 7th edition. Cengage Learning. p. 915. ISBN 81-315-0104-3.
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