(W. Thompson, 1840)
Hyndman's Sea Cucumber
Description
Body short and barrel-shaped, slightly curved and tapering posteriorly; up to 100 mm in length and 20 mm thick; coloured whitish-grey or pale red.
Tentacles
There are 10 pale brown tentacles.
Tube-feet
The tube-feet are almost completely retractile and are arranged in 5 distinct double rows.
Skin
The skin is thick, smooth and leathery, with large smooth fenestrate plates lying very close or even overlapping when the animal is contracted (P. hyndmani spicules).
Habitat
This species lives on hard substrata where it conseals itself with shells and pebbles; found at depths of 20-1150 m.
Distribution
In the North Sea this species is found from the Shetland Islands down to St. Andrews on the British east coast. Elsewhere it is distributed from the Trondheim Fjord down to the Mediterranean.