Scotoplanes globosa

Scotoplanes globosa is a deep-sea sea cucumber in the family Elpidiidae. Its plump body and leg-like tube feet give it the common name swimming sea pig.

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Sea cucumber: A marine echinoderm with an elongated body, a leathery skin, and a mouth surrounded by feeding tentacles. Scotoplanes globosa is one species within this group of echinoderms.
Holothuroidea: The class of echinoderms commonly called sea cucumbers, characterized by elongated bodies and reduced skeletons. Scotoplanes globosa belongs to this class of soft-bodied echinoderms.
Scotoplanes: A genus of deep-sea sea cucumbers commonly called sea pigs, with leg-like tube feet for moving over seafloor sediments. Scotoplanes globosa is a member of this genus.
Sea pig locomotion: Movement by sea pigs across the seafloor using enlarged tube feet and other body appendages. Its walking-like movement explains the animal’s common name.
Elpidiidae: A family of deep-sea sea cucumbers with specialized tube feet and bodies adapted to soft seafloor habitats. This is the family that includes Scotoplanes globosa.
Deposit feeding: A feeding strategy in which an animal ingests sediment and extracts its organic material. It gathers food from nutrient-bearing seafloor sediment.
Elpidia glacialis: A deep-sea sea cucumber in the family Elpidiidae, found in Arctic and North Atlantic waters. This related species offers a comparison within the same family.
Deep-sea scavenging: The consumption of dead organisms and other organic remains by animals living on the ocean floor. Sea pigs can gather where food-rich organic material reaches the bottom.
Tube feet: Hydraulic appendages used by echinoderms for movement, attachment, feeding, or sensing. Its enlarged ventral tube feet act like legs on the seafloor.
Marine snow: A shower of organic particles that sinks from upper ocean waters toward the deep sea. Its settled particles contribute food to the sediments where the animal feeds.