Apostichopus japonicus   (Selenka, 1867)

Japanese sea cucumber

Native range | All suitable habitat | Point map | Year 2050
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Apostichopus japonicus  AquaMaps  Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Apostichopus japonicus

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | CoL | ITIS | WoRMS

Holothuroidea | Synallactida | Stichopodidae

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Benthic; depth range 0 - 200 m (Ref. 635), usually 50 - 100 m (Ref. 635).  Subtropical; ? - 30°C (Ref. 77134), preferred 16°C (Ref. 107945); 63°N - 31°N, 117°E - 165°E (Ref. 112755)

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions

Northwest Pacific: Japan (from Hokkaido to Kyushu), China, Korean Peninsula and Far Eastern Russia (Karaginskogo Island).

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?, range 20 - ? cm Max length : 30.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 101467)

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Common in shallow coastal bottom communities from the intertidal zone to depths more than 100 m. Forms aggregations, usually in the upper sublittoral zone (Ref. 635). May occur in three color variants: red type often found in offshore gravel beds while the green and black types often at inshore sandy-muddy bottoms (Ref. 77132). Juveniles often associated with algal/seagrass and oyster beds (Ref. 621). Most commercially important sea cucumber species (for trade, food and traditional medicine both; fisheries and farming/ranching) in China (Ref. 77133). Aquaculture now widespread in northern coast of China (Ref. 77133) since wild populations became over-exploited in the 1990s. Chinese aquaculture production peaked at 65,283 tons in 2005 (Ref. 77133).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Members of the class Holothuroidea are gonochoric and have only one gonad. Spawning and fertilization are both external and some exhibit brooding. Life cycle: Embryos develop into planktotrophic larvae (auricularia) then into doliolaria (barrel-shaped stage) which later metamorphose into juvenile sea cucumbers.

Main reference References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Kan-no, M. and A. Kijima. 2003. (Ref. 77132)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)

  Endangered (EN) (A2bd); Date assessed: 19 May 2010

CITES status (Ref. 108899)

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless

Human uses

Fisheries: commercial; aquaculture: commercial
FAO - Aquaculture: production, species profile; Fisheries: landings | FishSource | Sea Around Us

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Distribution
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References

Internet sources

BHL | BOLD Systems | CISTI | DiscoverLife | FAO(Aquaculture: species profile; Fisheries: ; publication : search) | Fishipedia | GenBank (genome, nucleotide) | GloBI | Gomexsi | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | PubMed | Tree of Life | Wikipedia (Go, Search) | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 115969): 8.6 - 19.7, mean 15.2 (based on 30 cells).
Vulnerability (Ref. 71543): Low to moderate vulnerability (35 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766): High.
Nutrients :  Calcium = 126 [75, 177] mg/100g; Iron = 4.79 [1.67, 7.92] mg/100g; Protein = 16.6 [15.4, 17.8] %; Omega3 = 0.331 [0.263, 0.400] g/100g; Selenium = 57.8 [48.5, 67.2] μg/100g; VitaminA = 0 μg/100g; Zinc = 1.97 [0.92, 3.02] mg/100g (wet weight); based on nutrient studies.