Larval Development of Cucumaria Elongata (Echinodermata: Holothuroidea)

Abstract

Cucutnaria elongata Düben & Koren, collected from the Northumberland coast in January 1968, was induced to spawn in the laboratory by raising the temperature. At spawning, the animal waved its pharyngeal bulb back and forth while a thin string of gametes was discharged. The freshly spawned eggs, surrounded by a jelly coat, were at the end of the second meiotic division and the size varies from 250 to 350 μ in diameter. Oocytes in the ovarian tubules can be grouped into three stages according to their size and other morphological features. Insemination of artificially recovered eggs resulted in only a very low frequency of abnormal development up to 8-cell stage. However, over 90% fertilization was achieved by insemination of the naturally shed eggs and the development was normal. The cleavage was holoblastic and radial type. The larva hatched at post blastula stage and swam freely with its animal pole upward. A doliolaria stage with four ciliary bands and pentactula stage with five primary tentacles subsequently developed. The planktonic life at temperature 9–11 °C ended on the ninth day after fertilization. Pentactula, up to 4 months old, live underneath the mud where they are deposit feeders. The primary tentacles bearing mucus glands in the form of papillae are important in both locomotion and feeding. An outline of chronology from fertilization up to 5 months old is presented.