Oneirophanta mutabilis
A deep-sea sea cucumber discovered during the Challenger expedition.
Last updated
Oneirophanta mutabilis is a species of sea cucumber in the family Deimatidae and the type species of the genus Oneirophanta. It is notable for being one of the many deep-sea animals discovered during the Challenger expedition of 1872–1876, first described by Swedish zoologist Hjalmar Théel in 1879.
Scientific classification
- KingdomAnimalia
- PhylumEchinodermata
- ClassHolothuroidea
- OrderSynallactida
- FamilyDeimatidae
- GenusOneirophanta
- SpeciesOneirophanta mutabilis
Named by Théel, 1879
Sources: Wikipedia taxobox: Oneirophanta mutabilis (CC BY-SA 4.0) · order, family and genus agree with WoRMS AphiaID 124720 (CC BY 4.0)
How big is it?
Largest length in the source, 0.16 m, next to a 1.8 m person.
Diagram: drawn by Codexery, schematic shapes to scale (not a likeness). Length: Wikipedia: Oneirophanta mutabilis
Where the oneirophanta mutabilis has been recorded
Each dot is a place where the species has been observed and reported (11,844 records, half-degree grid) — not a modelled range. 2 inland records left out (institution coordinates).
Map: drawn by Codexery. Data: GBIF occurrence search (records CC0 / CC BY) · Natural Earth basemap (public domain)
Quick Facts
- Length
- up to 160 mm (6.3 in)
- Width
- up to 60 mm (2.4 in)
- Papillae length range
- 2 to 50 mm (0.1 to 2.0 in / 5.08 cm)
- Egg diameter
- smaller than 400 μm
- Seabed temperature
- about 2 °C (36 °F)
Facts from the source article.
Background
The generic name Oneirophanta is from Greek όνειρο (oneiro), 'dream', and φαίνομαι (phainomai), 'to appear', meaning 'the thing that appears as in a dream'. The specific name mutabilis is Latin for 'changeable'. This sea cucumber has an elongate body with a mouth at the anterior end of the ventral surface, surrounded by a ring of twenty tentacles of varying lengths, each tipped with eight projections.
Tube feet on the ventral surface vary in number and are usually in a single row or scattered irregularly, while peg-like tube feet run along each side. The dorsal surface is dotted with papillae (conical fleshy projections with sensory tube feet at their apices) that range from 2 to 50 mm in length. The skin is rough, brittle, and somewhat transparent; preserved specimens are white, pale brown, or dark brown.
More in Sea Cucumbers
Elsewhere in Sea Cucumbers and Brittle Stars
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Oneirophanta mutabilis (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Classification: the source article's taxobox; order, family and genus checked against WoRMS, the World Register of Marine Species (CC BY 4.0).
- Occurrence records: GBIF (CC0 / CC BY). Basemap: Natural Earth (public domain).
- Word definitions: the Codexery glossary, each quoted from its Wikipedia article.
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