Sea Cucumbers, Sea Urchins & Sand Dollars

(Oregon to Southeast Alaska)

Click on photo to enlarge. Scale line in photo equals 1cm unless otherwise specified.

Notations refer to how often they can be found intertidally by beachgoers in the Northwest plus
their full habitat range. Some are more frequently found subtidally or in other parts of their range.

Cucumariidae

Cucumaria frondosa japonica Mortensen, 1932
Giant Black Sea Cucumber
common, central BC to southeast AK and Arctic Ocean

Cucumaria miniata (Brandt, 1835)
Orange Sea Cucumber
very common under rocks, north Mexico to north Alaska

Schizasteridae

Brisaster latifrons (A.Agassiz, 1898)
Heart Urchin
only found subtidally, north Mexico to
north Alaska & Japan

Strongylocentrotidae

Mesocentrotus franciscanus (A.Agassiz, 1898)
Red Sea Urchin
occasionally found, long red to purple spines, north Mexico to north Alaska & Japan

Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis (O.F. Müller, 1776)
Green Sea Urchin
common, green to whitish spines;
north Washington to Alaska, Japan & circumpolar

Urchin bed
Strongylocentrotus purpuratus (G.O. Sars, 1871)
Purple Sea Urchin
common, purple spines north Mexico to central Alaska

Cucumaria vegae Theel, 1886
Tiny Black Sea Cucumber
occasionally found, north BC to
north Alaska & Japan

Psolidae

photographed in an aquarium
Psolidium bidiscum Lambert, 1996
Pale Creeping Pedal Sea Cucumber
mostly subtidal, central California to south Alaska

Pentamera sp.
White Sea Cucumber
occasionally found, several species occur from
north Mexico to south Alaska
difficult to identify different species

Stichopodidae

also good for a free ride

Apostichopus californicus (Stimpson, 1857)
Giant Sea Cucumber
occasionally found intertidally in our area, mostly subtidal, north Mexico to central Alaska

Sclerodactylidae

Eupentacta quinquesemita (Selenka, 1867)
Stiff-Footed Sea Cucumber
occasionally found, north Mexico
to south Alaska & Japan

Synaptidae

Leptosynapta clarki Heding, 1928
Burrowing Sea Cucumber
occasionally found, central California to north BC

Caudinidae

Paracaudina chilensis (J. Muller, 1850)
Rattail Sea Cucumber
rarely found, lives buried in the sand

Chiridotidae

Chiridota albatrossii Edwards, 1907
White-dotted Sea Cucumber
only subtidal, infrequently seen by divers
Oregon to south Alaska; Japan to Siberia

photographed in an aquarium
Psolus chitonoides Clark, 1901
Creeping Pedal Sea Cucumber
uncommon intertidally, north Mexico to
north Alaska; Japan

Cucumaria piperata (Stimpson, 1864)
Peppered Sea Cucumber
occasionally found, north Mexico to north BC

Dendrasteridae

dead specimen live specimen sand dollar bed

Dendraster excentricus (Eschscholtz, 1831)
Excentric Sand Dollar
common, north Mexico to south Alaska