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Holothuria leucospilota

Rori Ka‘a

Black Soft-spine Sea-cucumber

Multimedia & Additional Resources

Type	Description	Download
Image:	Adult, Rarotonga	21KB
Image:	Adult, Guam	54KB
Image:	Mature testes and ovaries	91KB

General Information

COMMON NAMES: Black Soft-spine Sea-cucumber

TRADITIONAL NAMES: Rori Ka‘a / Matu Rori (RR), Rori Tapau / Rori Ngako (MG), Rori Tapou (AT), Rori Tāpou (MK MT), Rori Tāpou / Rori Piripiri (AK), Loli (TS), Rori (TW), Puhi ? (MH), Loli Louili-taupulepule (PK)

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE e.Africa - French Polynesia; Hawai‘i - Galapagos; n. to s.Japan

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Native; Marine, near-shore, reef-flat moat, reef-slope shallow, 0-10m

SIGNIFICANCE LIST: Subsistence Food

Enlarged Image of 'Holothuria leucospilota'

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map

Southern Group: Present Makatea: Present
RR	MG	AT	MK	MT	AK	PL	TK	MN
P	P	^P	P		P

Northern Group:
TN	MH	RK	PK	NS	SW
			P

Key to Symbols

blank	no data
-	absent	L	localised
X	extinct 'naturally'	W	widespread
XQi	quarantine intercepted	R	recent
XQe	eradicated	?	query preceding category
P	present	T?	taxonomic query
S	seasonal	nn	present, said to have no name
O	occasional	?1	present, name not investigated
++++	very common	?2	presence not verified, no name recorded
+++	common	N/A	absent, name not expected
++	uncommon
+	rare
Cook Islands islands: RR =Rarotonga, MG = Mangaia, AT =‘Ātiu, MK=Ma‘uke, MT=Miti‘āro, AK=Aitutaki, PL=Palmerston, PN=Penrhyn, MN=Manuae, TK=Takūtea, TN=Tongareva (TS=Tongaleva Spoken, TW=Tongareva Written, they say "el" but write "r"), MH=Manihiki, RK=Rakahanga, PK=Pukapuka, NS=Nassau, SW=Suwarrow. After a Polynesian name: ^=orthography query. Countries and other: FIJ=Fiji, WT=Wallis & Futuna, SAM=Samoa, TON=Tonga, NIU=Niue, CK=Cook Islands, CKM=Cook Islands Māori, FP=French Polynesia, AUS=Australs, SOC=Societies, TAH=Tahiti, TUA=Tuamotus, MQS=Marquesas, MNG=Mangareva, PIT=Pitcain group, EAS=Easter Island, HAW=Hawai‘i, NZ=New Zealand, NZM=New Zealand Māori

Scientific Taxonomy

Holothuria leucospilota (Brandt, 1835)
SYNONYMS: Holothuria (Mertensiothuria) leucospilota; Stichopus (Gymnochirota) leucospilota; Holothuria vagabunda Selenka, 1867

TAXONOMY: ANIMALIA; ECHINODERMATA; ELEUTHEROZOA; HOLOTHUROIDEA; Aspidochirota; HOLOTHURIIDAE

More Information

SIGNIFICANCE NOTES -
POSITIVE SIGNIFICANCE: Subsistence Food. Comments: The most important sea-cucumber used as food. The reproductive system is harvest in the early summer on Rarotonga.

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
Atiu: field-specimen, College collection, 10/2000, ID GMcC. Pukapuka: fieldspecimen, 2/2004, G.McCormack with ID as Holothuria leucospilota.

References:
None recorded.

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB02, zM02

Web Resources

Citation Information

McCormack, Gerald (2007) Cook Islands Biodiversity Database, Version 2007.2. Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust, Rarotonga. Online at http://cookislands.bishopmuseum.org.
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