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Abstract New distributon data for the sea cucumber Ypsilothuria bitentaculata (Ludwidg, 1893) (Echinodermata: Holothuroidea) for Peruvian waters are provided. Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C., United States Natural History Museum * MCZ: Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University. Ypsilothuria bitentaculata; Perrier, 1902: 517; Koehler y Vaney, 1905: 87; Panning, 1949: 455; Madsen, 1955: 167; Caso, 1961: 371; Pawson 1965: 6-7, text fig. 1, figs 1-5; Thandar, 1984: 226, Maluf, 1988: 95, 156; Nybakken et al. 1998: 1759, 1778; Maluf, 1991: 358; Thandar 1999: 373-375, fig. 3 d-f; Lane et al., 2000: 491; Maluf y Brusca, 2005: 342; Tilot, 2006: 59; Sastry, 2007: 254; Massin y Hendrix 2011: 422, fig. 7; Mecho et al. 2014: 294, 295, fig. 13; Martins y Tavares, 2018: 1-6 Diagnostico (modificada de Ludwig, 1893). Placas radiales e interradiales con base curva, sin proyecciones en la superficie posterior, bifurcadas anteriormente, la radial ligeramente más alta que la interradial. Ypsiloturia bitentaculata es una especie cosmopolita (Pawson 1965). Ypsiloturia bi-tentaculata ha sido considerada una especie del Océano Pacífico (Oshima 1915, Pawson 1965, Gage et al. 1985), sin embargo, Martins y Tavares (2018) la reportó para el Atlántico sudoccidental y el océano Indico. Al Dr. Dave Pawson, del Museo de Historia Natural del Smithsoniano, por darnos acceso a los ejemplares de la colección de equinodermos de esa dependencia.

A new species of holothuroid, (order Dendrochirotida and family Sclerodactylidae), was discovered off the coast of Labrador (eastern Canada) at a depth of 740-969 m. Two specimens were described based on morphological and genetic parameters. Distinctive characters included pinkish body colour, presence of tube feet on a 'tail', supporting rod-shaped ossicles in the tube feet, and rod-shaped ossicles in the tentacles. To investigate its phylogenetic relationships, partial sequences of COI were obtained for the new species as well as for the type species and another North Atlantic species According to the phylogenetic analysis, appeared in a well-supported clade with and . Molecular data also suggest polyphyly of the genus, showing the Northeast Pacific species recovered outside of the clade containing the type species. is the first species of the genus from the Northwest Atlantic. A key to the North Atlantic is provided.

Epitomaptaaumakuasp. nov. occurs at a depth of 2.5 m in Kualoa, O`ahu, Hawai`i, living in coarse sand. It is distinctive in having 12 pinnate tentacles, each tentacle with three pairs of digits and 6-8 sensory cups. The body wall bears papillae or oval bumps, and the length of body reaches a maximum length of 18.4 mm after relaxation.Epitomaptaaumakuasp. nov. occurs at a depth of 2.5 m in Kualoa, O`ahu, Hawai`i, living in coarse sand. It is distinctive in having 12 pinnate tentacles, each tentacle with three pairs of digits and 6-8 sensory cups. The body wall bears papillae or oval bumps, and the length of body reaches a maximum length of 18.4 mm after relaxation.

This review presents a detailed analysis of published research data focused on the pharmacological activity exerted by biologically active compounds isolated from sea cucumbers belonging to the class of Holothuroidea, phylum Echinodermata. The review contains descriptions of the structure, physico-chemical properties and pharmacological effects of these active substances. Particular attention is given to compounds with anticoagulant, antithrombotic, antioxidant, anticancer, anti-infectious, immune-stimulating and anti-ACE (angiotensin converting enzyme) activities as well as to the substances exerting a regulating influence on lipid and carbohydrate metabolism. All these compounds may be considered as prototypes for development of new pharmaceutical substances and medicines.

Coral reefs are in global decline with coral diseases playing a significant role. This is especially true for Acroporid corals that represent ~25% of all Pacific coral species and generate much of the topographic complexity supporting reef biodiversity. Coral diseases are commonly sediment-associated and could be exacerbated by overharvest of sea cucumber detritivores that clean reef sediments and may suppress microbial pathogens as they feed. Here we show, via field manipulations in both French Polynesia and Palmyra Atoll, that historically overharvested sea cucumbers strongly suppress disease among corals in contact with benthic sediments. Sea cucumber removal increased tissue mortality of Acropora pulchra by ~370% and colony mortality by ~1500%. Additionally, farmerfish that kill Acropora pulchra bases to culture their algal gardens further suppress disease by separating corals from contact with the disease-causing sediment—functioning as mutualists rather than parasites despite killing coral bases. Historic overharvesting of sea cucumbers increases coral disease and threatens the persistence of tropical reefs. Enhancing sea cucumbers may enhance reef resilience by suppressing disease. Coral diseases are commonly sediment-associated. Here the authors conduct a field experiment in French Polynesia and Palmyra Atoll showing that removal of sea cucumbers that clean reef sediments while feeding increases coral disease.

Collagen is the major fibrillar protein in most living organisms. Among the different types of collagen, type I collagen is the most abundant one in tissues of marine invertebrates. Due to the health-related risk factors and religious constraints, use of mammalian derived collagen has been limited. This triggers the search for alternative sources of collagen for both food and non-food applications. In this regard, numerous studies have been conducted on maximizing the utilization of seafood processing by-products and address the need for collagen. However, less attention has been given to marine invertebrates and their by-products. The present review has focused on identifying sea cucumber as a potential source of collagen and discusses the general scope of collagen extraction, isolation, characterization, and physicochemical properties along with opportunities and challenges for utilizing marine-derived collagen.

Fucoidan is a polysaccharide built from L-fucose molecules. The main source of this polysaccharide is the extracellular matrix of brown seaweed (Phaeophyta), but it can be also isolated from invertebrates such as sea urchins (Echinoidea) and sea cucumbers (Holothuroidea). Interest in fucoidan is related to its broad biological activity, including possible antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antifungal, antiviral or antithrombotic effects. The potential application of fucoidan in the pharmaceutical technology is also due to its ionic nature. The negative charge of the molecule results from the presence of sulfate residues in the C-2 and C-4 positions, occasionally in C-3, allowing the formation of complexes with other oppositely charged molecules. Fucoidan is non-toxic, biodegradable and biocompatible compound approved by Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) category as food ingredient. Fucoidan plays an important role in the pharmaceutical technology, so in this work aspects concerning its pharmaceutical characteristics and designing of various dosage forms (nanoparticles, liposomes, microparticles, and semisolid formulations) with fucoidan itself and with its combinations with other polymers or components that give a positive charge were reviewed. Advantages and limitations of fucoidan utilization in the pharmaceutical technology were also discussed.

Soft-bodied slow-moving sea creatures such as sea stars and sea cucumbers lack an adaptive immune system and have instead evolved the ability to make specialized protective chemicals (glycosylated steroids and triterpenes) as part of their innate immune system. This raises the intriguing question of how these biosynthetic pathways have evolved. Sea star saponins are steroidal, while those of the sea cucumber are triterpenoid. Sterol biosynthesis in animals involves cyclization of 2,3-oxidosqualene to lanosterol by the oxidosqualene cyclase (OSC) enzyme lanosterol synthase (LSS). Here we show that sea cucumbers lack LSS and instead have two divergent OSCs that produce triterpene saponins and that are likely to have evolved from an ancestral LSS by gene duplication and neofunctionalization. We further show that sea cucumbers make alternate sterols that confer protection against self-poisoning by their own saponins. Collectively, these events have enabled sea cucumbers to evolve the ability to produce saponins and saponin-resistant sterols concomitantly.Sea stars and sea cucumbers biosynthesize protective glycosylated steroids and triterpenes via divergent oxidosqualene cyclases (OSCs) that produce these distinct saponins in different species as well as in different tissues of a single species.

In the Arctic, under-ice primary production is limited to summer months and is restricted not only by ice thickness and snow cover but also by the stratification of the water column, which constrains nutrient supply for algal growth. Research Vessel Polarstern visited the ice-covered eastern-central basins between 82° to 89°N and 30° to 130°E in summer 2012, when Arctic sea ice declined to a record minimum. During this cruise, we observed a widespread deposition of ice algal biomass of on average 9 grams of carbon per square meter to the deep-sea floor of the central Arctic basins. Data from this cruise will contribute to assessing the effect of current climate change on Arctic productivity, biodiversity, and ecological function.

Filter-feeding mussels blend suspended particles into faeces and pseudo-faeces enhancing organic matter flows between the water column and the bottom, and strengthening benthic-pelagic coupling. Inside operating farms, high bivalve densities in relatively confined areas result in an elevated rate of organic sinking to the seabed, which may cause a localized impact in the immediate surrounding. Deposit-feeding sea cucumbers are potentially optimal candidates to bioremediate mussel organic waste, due to their ability to process organic-enriched sediments impacted by aquaculture waste. However, although the feasibility of this polyculture has been investigated for a few Indo-Pacific species, little is known about Atlanto-Mediterranean species. Hence, for the first time, in the present study, we conducted a comparative investigation on the suitability of different Mediterranean sea cucumber species, to be reared in Integrated Multitrophic Aquaculture (IMTA) with mussels. A pilot-scale experiment was accomplished operating within a mussel farm where two sea cucumbers species, Holothuria tubulosa and Holothuria polii , were caged beneath the long-line mussel farm of Mytilus galloprovincialis . After four months, H. tubulosa showed high survivorship (94%) and positive somatic growth (6.07%); conversely H. polii showed negative growth (− 25.37%), although 92% of specimens survived. Furthermore, sea cucumber growth was size-dependent. In fact, smaller individuals, independently from the species, grew significantly faster than larger ones. These results evidenced a clear difference in the suitability of the two sea cucumber species for IMTA with M. galloprovincialis , probably due to their different trophic ecology (feeding specialization on different microhabitats, i.e. different sediment layers). Specifically, H. tubulosa seems to be an optimal candidate as extractive species both for polycultures production and waste bioremediation in M. galloprovincialis operating farms.