#5027 · 🪼 jellyfish, starfish, worms & co

Orange Sea Cucumber

🇳🇱 Oranje zeekomkommer ·Cucumaria miniata

🪼 Jellyfish, starfish, worms & co 📍 outside Europe

10 photos from iNaturalist (Creative Commons) · credits & licences

1. © Marisa Agarwal · CC BY-NC 4.0
2. © Alex Heyman · CC0
3. © Wendy Feltham · CC BY-NC 4.0
4. © Brenna Green · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
5. © August Rode · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
6. Salish Sea, Oak Bay, BC, CA:© Sarah MacGregor · CC BY 4.0
7. Alberni-Clayoquot, BC, Canada:© Em Lim · CC BY-NC 4.0
8. Sitka, AK 99835, USA:© Paul Norwood · CC BY-NC 4.0
9. Vancouver, BC, Canada:© Alex · CC BY-NC 4.0
10. Clallam County, WA, USA:© Alison Young · CC BY-NC 4.0

what is it?

Cucumaria miniata is commonly known as the orange sea cucumber or red sea cucumber due to its striking color. This northeast Pacific species is often found wedged in between rocks or crevices at the coast or on docks and can generally be identified by its orange bushy tentacles protruding above the substrate.

base stats

NL sightings 0iNaturalist, research grade
worldwide 10,330iNaturalist observations

Bars compare against all animals on log scales: up to 300,000 Dutch and 600,000 worldwide sightings (the most-seen species), 150 t (blue whale), 30 m and 400 years (Greenland shark).

fun facts

No confirmed wild sightings in the Netherlands on iNaturalist: you'd have to travel for this one.
10,330 observations worldwide on iNaturalist.
Scientifically named by Johann Friedrich von Brandt in 1835 (191 years ago).

fact sheet

English: Orange Sea Cucumber
Nederlands: Oranje zeekomkommer
scientific name: Cucumaria miniata
class: Holothuroidea
order: Dendrochirotida
family: Cucumariidae
sightings in NL: 0
sightings worldwide: 10,330
GBIF records in NL: 0
weight: —
length: —
lifespan: —
named: 1835 by Johann Friedrich von Brandt

Sources: iNaturalist taxon 117695, Wikidata Q2491296, GBIF 5188234, Wikipedia (EN), Wikipedia (NL). Intro text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.