Bohadschia Explained

Bohadschia is a genus of sea cucumbers in the family Holothuriidae. They are among the largest, most common, and conspicuous sea cucumbers on coral reefs. They have large, loaf-like bodies that are often strikingly colored.

Species

, the World Register of Marine Species recognizes 12 species in the genus Bohadschia:

• Bohadschia argus (Jaeger, 1833)
• Bohadschia atra (Massin, Rasolofonirina, Conand & Samyn, 1999)
• Bohadschia cousteaui (Cherbonnier, 1954)
• Bohadschia koellikeri (Semper, 1868)
• Bohadschia maculisparsa (Cherbonnier & Féral, 1984)
• Bohadschia marmorata (Jaeger, 1833)
• Bohadschia mitsioensis (Cherbonnier, 1988)
• Bohadschia ocellata (Jaeger, 1833)
• Bohadschia paradoxa (Selenka, 1867)
• Bohadschia steinitzi (Cherbonnier, 1963)
• Bohadschia subrubra (Quoy & Gaimard, 1834)
• Bohadschia vitiensis (Semper, 1868)

In addition, two undescribed species are known:

• Bohadschia sp. 1 – Known from Bali, Okinawa Island, the Philippines, and Hawaii.
• Bohadschia sp. 2 – Known only from a single tissue sample from the Red Sea; may be synonymous with Bohadschia steinitzi.

Further reading

• Francis W.E. Rowe, A review of the family Holothuriidae (Holothuroidea : Aspidochirotida), vol. 18 n°4, Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History), 1969, 54 p.