Galapagos Species Database

The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.

Holothuria (Halodeima) kefersteinii (Selenka, 1867)

meón, pepino de mar, Sea cucumber

Length up to 20 centimerters

Depth: shore to 27 m, extended to 145 m by museum records.

Taxonomy

Domain
Eukaryota

Kingdom
Animalia

Phylum
Echinodermata

Class
Holothuroidea

Order
Holothuriida

Family
Holothuriidae

Genus
Holothuria (Halodeima)

Species
kefersteinii

Taxon category: Accepted

Syn.: Halodeima kefersteini (Selenka, 1867), Holothuria (Paraholothuria) riojai Caso, 1964, Holothuria riojai Caso, 1964, Stichopus kefersteinii Selenka, 1867 (Horton et al., 2021).

Origin: Native

Status

IUCN Red List Category: Not evaluated

Distribution

Map of specimen collection localities or observation records for this species in our collections database.

Distribution: Gulf of California, Revillagigedos, Perú, Mozambique to Hawai, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Malpelo, Cocos Islands, Clipperton and Ecuador including Galapagos Islands

References

  • Appeltans, W. Bouchet, P., Boxshall, G.A., Fauchald, K., Gordon, D.P., Hoeksema, B.W., Poore, G.C.B., van Soest, R.W.M., Stöhr, S., Walter, T.C., Costello, M.J. (eds.) (2010) World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS). Available online at http://www.marinespecies.org.
  • Banks, S. Vera, M. & Chiriboga, A. (2009) Establishing Reference Points to Assess Long-Term Change in Zooxanthellate Coral Communities of the Northern Galapagos Coral Reefs. J. Sci. Conserv. in the Galapagos Islands, p. 43-64.
  • Constant, P. (2007) Marine Life of the Galapagos. The Diver's guide to Fishes, Whales, Dolphins and marine Invertebrates, 307 pp.
  • Hickman, C.P. Jr. (1998) A Field Guide to Sea Stars and other Echinoderms of Galápagos. Sugar Spring Press, Lexington, Virginia, 83 pp.
  • Horton, T. Horton, T., Kroh, A., Ahyong, S., Bailly, N., Boyko, C. B., Brandão, S. N., Gofas, S., Hooper, J. N. A., Hernandez, F., Holovachov, O., Mees, J., Molodtsova, T. N., Paulay, G., Decock, W., Dekeyzer, S., Poffyn, G., Vandepitte, L., Vanhoorne, B., Adlard, R., ... Zhao, Z. (2021) World Register of Marine Species. Available from https://www.marinespecies.org at VLIZ.
  • Maluf, L.Y. (1991) Echinoderm Fauna of the Galápagos Islands. In: James, M.J. (ed.): Galápagos Marine Invertebrates. Taxonomy, Biogeography, and Evolution in Darwin's Islands. Plenum Press, New York and London, p. 345-367.
  • Shepherd, S.A. Toral-Granda, V. & Edgar, G.J. (2003) Estimating the abundance of clustered and cryptic marine macro-invertebrates in the Galapagos with particular reference to sea cucumbers. Noticias de Galapagos 62: 36-39.
  • Sonnenholzner, J. Brand, M., Francisco, V., Hearn, A., Luzuriaga, M., Guarderas, P & Navarro, J. (2013) Echinoderms of Ecuador. In: Alvarado, J & Solís-Marín, A. (eds.) (2013) Echinoderm research and Diversity in Latin America. 183-233 pp.

You are welcome to download and use the information found in this page, acknowledging its source.

This page should be cited as follows:

"Galapagos Species Database, Holothuria (Halodeima) kefersteinii", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=7998. Accessed 30 October 2026.