itself, as one of the most spectacular instances of self- 

 mutilation and evisceration in the animal kingdom. 

 Until new organs are regenerated, the sea cucumber 

 continues its breathing movements, drawing sea water 

 directly into its body cavity. In six weeks or so, the 

 animal recovers completely and is ready to repeat 

 the performance if irritated sufficiently. 



In many parts of the South Pacific and along Ori- 

 ental coasts, people deliberately annoy these large sea 

 cucumbers and gather up the extruded organs (par- 

 ticularly the ovaries of a female) as meat for the soup 

 pot or delicacies to be eaten raw. More widespread 

 is the custom of preparing holothurians as "trepang" 

 or "'beche-de-mer." Usually the animal is eviscerated, 

 its body wall boiled, then dried or smoked. In the 

 Indo-Pacific region the product is very popular as an 

 ingredient for soups or as gelatinous tidbits. Great 

 quantities of trepang are sold commercially to the 

 Chinese. 



Trepang from the Mediterranean is almost two- 



thirds protein, whereas that from the Indo-Pacific 

 averages between one-third and one-half protein. Ap- 

 parently the protein constituents are completely di- 

 gestible, and the method of preparation removes all 

 toxic materials. 



Since the sea cucumbers in which the little pearl 

 fish Carapus seems an unwelcome guest are exactly 

 the ones producing fish poison and sticky threads 

 and eviscerating themselves when irritated, a person 

 can only marvel that the pearl fish is able to use the 

 cucumber's cloaca as a refuge. Actually, Carapus 

 gets enough space for its body by sliding its tapered 

 tail well up into one of the cucumber's respiratory 

 trees. Yet the fish seems never to trigger the common 

 responses and is completely immune to the poison. 



The potency of the poison to fish in general is well 

 known among natives on many South Sea islands. 

 On Guam, for example, people cut the common black 

 sea cucumber in two and wring the contents of its 

 body cavity into tidal pools to drive the fish to the 



The feather star Antedon bifida, found on European Atlantic shores and in the Mediterranean, 

 may be red, orange, yellow, or purple. It attaches itself temporarily to rocks by use of a circlet 

 of appendages ( cirri ) on its back, and holds the mouth up to receive food collected by the 

 feathery arms. ( France. Ralph Buchsbaum ) 



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