Science Without Limits | This Beloved Marine Delicacy: What Do You Know Beyond the Hype?

This is the sea cucumber, a very familiar and intriguing marine animal, discarding its title as a treasure of the ocean. Many animals hibernate in winter, but sea cucumbers summer because they are afraid of heat. When the water temperature reaches 20 degrees Celsius, they move to deeper waters and stop eating and summer. Sea cucumbers move extremely slowly, only 3 meters per hour, slower than snails, so they have mastered the art of camouflage by mimicking their skin color and surroundings. When sea cucumbers encounter enemy attacks and cannot escape, they will quickly contract their bodies and quickly throw their internal organs through their anus to the enemy. After losing their internal organs, sea cucumbers will regrow their internal organs within a few weeks. As long as the water temperature and water quality are suitable, sea cucumbers that have been cut in half or eaten by predators can regrow their entire bodies within a few months, provided that one of the remaining halves has a head or anus, because its growth cells are concentrated in these two areas.

Source: Dalian Natural Museum