​Range: Monterey Bay to Baja California (Monterey Bay Aquarium)

Diet: Feeds on detritus and small organisms within the soft sediment or mud.  They use their mucus covered oral tentacles and tube feet to gather debris and sediment, and proceed to stick it in their mouth.  The remaining non-organic material is pooped out (Kerr).​

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Habitat: Sandy sea floor bay (rocky shore), exposed rocky shore, kelp forest, protected rocky shore (Monterey Bay Aquarium)

Ecology: Due to their diet and nature of movement, Parastichopus parvimensis are essential organisms in maintaining a dynamic ocean floor.  They are sometimes referred to as the “earthworms of the sea,” because they cultivate the sea floor just as earthworms cultivate soil.  In areas subjected to sea cucumber overfishing, hardened seafloors have been observed, destroying the habitat of many other benthic organisms (SIMON).​​

For more information on the intertidal organisms of Monterey Bay, visit seanet.stanford.edu​
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