Ball Sea Cucumber

As its name suggests, the ball sea cucumber has an adorable ball-shaped body, although sometimes it can look more macaroni-shaped! Its whole body is covered in countless tube feet, which help the ball sea cucumber to grip tightly onto the shifting sediments and bury itself underground without being easily unearthed by strong waves or hungry predators.

Sadly, the local conservation status of this living beach ball is currently listed as “Vulnerable”. This is largely because of land reclamation and coastal pollution, which destroy the habitats that the ball sea cucumber calls home.