Holothuria nobilis

Holothuria nobilis
Conservation status
Endangered  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
CITES Appendix II (CITES)[2]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Echinodermata
Class:	Holothuroidea
Order:	Holothuriida
Family:	Holothuriidae
Genus:	Holothuria
Species:	H. nobilis
Binomial name
Holothuria nobilis (Selenka, 1867)
Synonyms
Microthele nobilis (Selenka, 1867) Mülleria nobilis Selenka, 1867

Holothuria (Microthele) nobilis, the black teatfish, is a species of sea cucumber in the genus Holothuria. The sea cucumber is found in the tropical waters of the Indo-Pacific ocean.[3] It was first described by Emil Selenka in 1867.[4]

Description

The cucumber inhabits shallow waters near islands and reefs. Members of the species are blackish-brown and grey in colour, and mature adults can weight between 1.7 and 4 kilograms.[5]

Use as food

Like the related white teatfish, the black teatfish is part of a commercial fishery across its range and the cucumber is regularly consumed as a food.[5] The species can be collected off the seafloor using diving suits or while skindiving, making the species very vulnerable to overfishing.[5] The species is considered endangered in the Indian Ocean.[6]

References

1. Conand, C., Purcell, S., Gamboa, R. & Toral-Granda, T.-G. 2013. Holothuria nobilis. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2013: e.T180326A1615368. Downloaded on 29 August 2020.
2. "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
3. "Holothuria nobilis (Selenka, 1867)". www.gbif.org. Retrieved 2020-08-10.
4. "WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Holothuria (Microthele) nobilis (Selenka, 1867)". www.marinespecies.org. Retrieved 2020-08-10.
5. "Holothuria nobilis, black teatfish : fisheries". www.sealifebase.org. Retrieved 2020-08-10.
6. Purcell, Steven; Branch, Trevor A. (29 May 2013). "How to hunt a species to extinction". The Conversation. Retrieved 2020-08-11.