chocolate chip cucumber

The Chocolate Chip Cucumber (Isostichopus badionotus) is a large sea cucumber in the family Stichopodidae, widely distributed throughout the tropical western Atlantic Ocean, including the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea, and extending along the coasts of Central and South America. Sea cucumbers (class Holothuroidea, phylum Echinodermata) are soft-bodied, elongated marine invertebrates that feed by ingesting sediment and organic detritus, playing an important role in processing organic matter and recycling nutrients in benthic (seafloor) ecosystems. Isostichopus badionotus receives its evocative common name from the distinctive pattern of dark brown to black raised tubercles (papillae) scattered across its tan or yellowish-brown body wall, resembling chocolate chips embedded in a pale matrix. Adults can reach lengths exceeding 30 centimetres. The species inhabits shallow coral reef systems, seagrass beds, and sandy and rubbly lagoon bottoms from the intertidal zone to depths of several tens of metres. Like other holothurians, it has the remarkable ability to eviscerate its internal organs when threatened, subsequently regenerating them. The IUCN classifies it as Least Concern, though sea cucumbers globally face pressure from overexploitation for the Asian beche-de-mer (dried sea cucumber) trade.