Turkish Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
2018, Vol 18, Num, 10 (Pages: 1141-1145)
First Evidence of Artificial Fission in two Mediterranean Species of Holothurians: Holothuria tubulosa and Holothuria polii
Alfonso Toscano 1 ,Paola Cirino 1
1 1Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Research Infrastructures for Marine Biological Resources, Villa Comunale I, 80121 Naples, Italy
DOI :
10.4194/1303-2712-v18_10_01
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Holothurians, or sea cucumbers, are a common group of echinoderms occurring in most benthic marine habitats in
temperate and tropical oceans. Sea cucumbers, already known as bioactive compounds producers, are increasingly seen as a
new source of food worldwide. Actions to foster a sustainable development of the resource they represent are increasingly
encouraged. Fission is a way of asexual reproduction reported in these organisms. This natural ability to split their body into
two parts is generally shown by various tropical species of holothurians, but it has been never reported for Mediterranean
species from Italian waters. Inducing fission in order to double individual numbers would be a promising option for culture
and restocking purposes. The present study reports the first evidence of transverse induced fission, after experiments of
fission stimulation, in two edible holothurian species from the Tyrrhenian Sea (Italy). Survival and regeneration times after
being forced to undergo transverse fission are reported.
Keywords :
Echinoderms, induced fission, regeneration, sea cucumber, commercial important species, sustainable exploitation