These are echinoderms of an elongate form, similar to a large cucumber, which live on sandy or gravelly sea beds. Here the find food using their tentacles which are arranged in a circle round the mouth. Some [sea cucumbers] are filterers, but the greater number pass their time eating large quantities of coral sand, from which they extract the organic substances on which they feed. It has been calculated that the [sea cucumbers] present in hectare of sea bed are capable of sifting 150 tons of sand in a year. An unsual defense strategy of many species consist of voluntarily expelling either entrails, which grow back in a few months, or a mass of fine white filaments which gel on contact with the water, becoming very sticky.

Eg skal vedgå at fantasien min har sprunge litt i veg her, for målet er tydelegvis å skræma fienden, ikkje å gje frå seg noko verdefullt av seg sjølv. Det går òg fram av fyrste sitatet mitt. Men eg tykte førestellinga mi om sjøagurk-forsvaret var meir fascinerande.