Pawsonia saxicola (Brady & Robertson, 1871)

Pawsonia saxicola

Description: A white smooth-skinned body and dark blotched tentacles emerging from a crevice are the characteristic features of this sea cucumber. There are five distinct double rows of long tube-feet.The spicules consist of flat rhombic plates with four holes, occasionally with two extra holes one at each end. 15cm in length, tentacles 10cm.

Habitat: Lives in rock crevices and beneath boulders in shallow water and on the lower shore. Common from the lower shore to the circalittoral zone.

Distribution: Found on all western coasts of the British Isles.

Similar Species: The tentacles of Aslia lefevrei are very similar and these two species often occur together. The white body is distinctive.

Key Identification Features:

• White body, tube-feet in rows.
• Lives in crevices in rocks.
• 10 mottled black tentacles.
• Spicules flat with few holes.

Distribution Map: NBN map : National Biodiversity Network mapping facility, data for UK.

WoRMS: Species record : World Register of Marine Species.

iNaturalist: Species account : iNaturalist World Species Observations database