Prickly redfish (Thelenota ananas)

Classification (WoRMS)

Full classification as recorded by WoRMS: Kingdom: Animalia · Phylum: Echinodermata · Class: Holothuroidea · Order: Synallactida · Family: Stichopodidae · Genus: Thelenota.

Accepted name: Thelenota ananas · Authority: (Jaeger, 1833) · Taxonomic status: accepted · AphiaID: 210916.

Synonyms and superseded combinations recorded for this taxon: Actinopyga formosa (Selenka, 1867); Holothuria (Holothuria) ananas Jaeger, 1833; Holothuria (Thelenota) grandis Brandt, 1835; Holothuria ananas Quoy & Gaimard, 1834; Holothuria hystrix Saville-Kent, 1890; Muelleria formosa Selenka, 1867; Trepang ananas Jaeger, 1833.

Source: World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) — https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=210916 (CC BY 4.0). Accessed 2026-09-23.

Biology and life history (SeaLifeBase)

Measured values published by SeaLifeBase for Thelenota ananas. Only fields the database actually holds for this species are shown; these are database values, not aquarium guidance.

Maximum length: 80 cm · Common length: 45 cm · Depth range: 0–50 m · Habitat zone: reef-associated · Vulnerability index: 51.9 of 100 · Fishery importance: highly commercial · Aquarium trade: never/rarely.

SeaLifeBase notes: Populations not reaching very high densities, with a mean of around 0.003 per square meter. Harvested by hand. Collected by skin diving or using diving gear (if not banned), making the populations very vulnerable, due to overexploitation. The processed product is of major quality and the demand is still high (Ref. 122). Maximum depth from Ref. 122154. A common reef species mostly found from near the surface to a depth of 25 m; generally occurs on hard bottoms, large rubble and coral patches, on reef slopes and near passes. Symbiotic pearlfish (Carapidae, Ophidiiformes) are often found in its general cavity (Ref. 122); common on exposed sandy bottoms or rubble areas of the reef fringe from 10 to 30 m (Ref. 800). Also found on seagrass (Ref. 122153). Associated with commensal pearlfish that live in the body cavity (Ref. 800). This is also found in lagoons at depths up to 30 m on clean sandy bottoms or on slabs near large coral heads. It feeds exclusively on calcareous alga Halimeda sp. (Ref. 118).

Source: SeaLifeBase species summary (SpecCode 83497) — https://www.sealifebase.se/summary/Thelenota-ananas.html (CC BY-NC 3.0 — non-commercial use only). Accessed 2026-09-23.

Distribution and occurrence records (GBIF)

2,125 georeferenced occurrence records for Thelenota ananas are published through GBIF from 51 countries or marine areas. The map above plots 354 distinct locations from a sample of 2,125 records, omitting 35 inland records that carry an institution's coordinates rather than a collection site; it shows where the species has been observed and reported, not a modelled range.

Most records by country or area: Australia (636); New Caledonia (175); French Polynesia (153); Palau (150); Cook Islands (89).

The full country table, WoRMS marine regions and the sampling notes are on this species' Distribution page.

Source: GBIF Occurrence Search (taxonKey 4343232) — https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/search?taxon_key=4343232&has_coordinate=true (records CC0 / CC BY); WoRMS distribution records (MarineRegions) — https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=210916 (CC BY 4.0); Natural Earth 110m basemap — https://www.naturalearthdata.com/ (public domain). Accessed 2026-09-23.

Conservation status (IUCN Red List)

The IUCN Red List assesses Thelenota ananas (Jaeger, 1833) as Endangered (code EN). No trend, population estimate or threat analysis is given here, because none is available from this source without the Red List API; follow the source link for the full assessment, including its date.

Source: IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (taxon 180481) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/180481/0; GBIF IUCN Red List category endpoint (taxonKey 4343232) — https://api.gbif.org/v1/species/4343232/iucnRedListCategory. Accessed 2026-09-23.

Description and natural history (Wikipedia)

Thelenota ananas (pineapple sea cucumber) is a species of sea cucumber characterized by its large size, warm colors, and pointed, star-shaped, spotted teats covering the entire body, grouped in rows of 2 or 3, as seen in Figure 1. Their body is reddish-orange in color, with the teats slightly darker. They are able to reach up to 70 cm in length, with a weight of between 3 - 6 kg, and have numerous large tube feet on the flat ventral side of their body. T. ananas is a slow growing organism.

The environment of T. ananas is found in clean, sandy bottoms of lagoons with a depth of up to 30 m, or in slabs near large coral heads and coral rubble, as depicted in Figure 2. They are typically located in seas surrounding India and in the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. The average water temperatures they thrive in are between 26 - 27 C. The individuals are large and found dispersed in low densities.

T. ananas are widely distributed, but tracking these organisms in a non-invasive and accurate way is somewhat difficult. Mark and recapture methods can be difficult because their bodies are extendable, so measuring their body has proven difficult to scientists since the numbers are ever-changing. The body wall of T. ananas cannot be tagged because it affects the growth of the organism, and are later shed off altogether. Scratching marks into the body wall induces short-term trauma and does not last long enough for mark and recapture efforts. These methods all harm T. ananas in some form, so the best non-invasive way to track their growth and traveling is through photographs.

While generally considered sedentary, they have large tube feet hidden underneath their body which allow them to be highly mobile creatures and widely distributed. They are slow growing, but also longer lived and have lower mortality rates. T. ananas is diurnally active, meaning they're active during the day.

T. ananas plays an important role in coral reef ecosystems by recycling nutrients, bioturbating sediments, buffering sea water from ocean acidification to local scales, prey to a range of predators, and acting as a host for symbiotic biota.

T. ananas acts as a host to parasites identified as small siphonostome copepods within the genus Nanaspis. Arthur G. Humes of Boston University's Marine Program published research in 1973 that identified three new siphonostomes found on T. ananas. The research was conducted by collecting and isolating T. ananas, washing them with 5% ethyl alcohol in sea water, and then passing a very fine mesh net through the wash water to collect the parasites. In this study, most of the parasites collected, across all T. ananas, were female. It was also found that all three of these newly discovered species could occur on the same host at the same time, and are very similar in structure, leading to the theory that these three evolved from a common ancestor that was also associated with T. ananas in the past. As many as 847 adult parasites were collected from one single specimen.

Another parasite often found in this holothuroid is the worm pearlfish (Encheliophis vermicularis).

T. ananas feeds exclusively on calcareous alga Halimeda sp.

T. ananas is one of the most popular edible sea cucumber species consumed in China, and some other Southeast Asian countries. Consumption of T. ananas provides health benefits such as antioxidants, anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, anti-proliferative, anti-coagulant, and anti-viral effects. Furthermore, sea cucumbers contain saponins, which can help regulate cholesterol metabolism, alleviate the development of obesity, hyperlipidemia, and diabetes.

Source: Wikipedia: Thelenota ananas — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thelenota_ananas (CC BY-SA 4.0). Accessed 2026-09-23.

Gallery