General Description

Body calcareous and hard from scales in the body wall, golden-red. Up to 1 cm long.

Biology

This tiny species is fissiparous. This means individuals can reproduce by splitting their bodies in two. In this species the front end splits from back end to produce two genetically identical individuals. These new individuals then grow back the other half. This is very uncommon in sea cucumbers, and usually only occurs in small species, such as this one. However, at least one other species in south-eastern Australia is also known to reproduce this way. While Squamocnus aureoruber appears to be able to split this way at any time of year throughout its range, it can also reproduce sexually by mating and producing eggs. They are thought to be hermaphrodites.

Distribution

South-eastern Australia.

Habitat

Fine fronds of small seaweeds, to depth of at least 85 m.

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