Astichopus

Astichopus is a monotypic genus of sea cucumber, with just one species: Astichopus multifidus. This animal, known as the furry or fissured sea cucumber, lives in the Caribbean Sea. It has a soft, sturdy body that can reach 40 cm long and 10 cm wide.

Its entire surface—both top and bottom—is covered in hundreds of tube feet. On the upper side, these feet extend into fleshy, cone-shaped papillae about 1 cm long, each tipped with a tube foot. The color is chocolate brown or dark grey, sometimes with lighter patches or many small white spots.

This sea cucumber is found across the Caribbean, from the West Indies and southern Florida to the Dry Tortugas, the Campeche Bank, and south to Colombia and Venezuela. It lives on sandy seafloors near reefs, and occasionally in seagrass meadows, at depths of 10 to 30 meters.

During the day, it buries itself in the sand and comes out at night to feed. It is a scavenger and detritivore, swallowing large amounts of sediment and extracting organic matter as it passes through its gut. Unlike most sea cucumbers, it moves quickly—covering nearly 2 meters in a minute—by crawling, rolling, or even bounding.

The IUCN lists Astichopus multifidus as Least Concern. While other Caribbean sea cucumbers have been more heavily harvested, this species may face increasing pressure as those stocks decline. Its population trend is unknown, but its range includes some protected areas, and sea cucumber collection is illegal in Panama, Costa Rica, and Venezuela.