Sea Pig

The sea pig is a small, plump deep-sea cucumber, typically 4 to 6 inches long, found on the muddy abyssal plains of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans at depths of 1,200 to 5,000 meters. It moves on several pairs of inflatable, water-filled tube feet, the largest at the middle of its body and smallest near its rear, and it senses and follows the plumes of organic matter that drift down from the surface, gathering in aggregations of hundreds of individuals over a fresh fall of food. As it churns through sediment feeding, it disturbs large volumes of the seafloor and shelters juvenile crabs and other small hitchhikers on and around its body.