Winter Interlude pt. 1: Tropical Holothurians (sea cucumbers) from tropical Fiji!

Greetings to everyone! So, some of you may have heard about the trivial bout of weather we've been having with more to come! Life has been snow! snow! snow! for the last week or so..

I have literally been snowed out of the museum for the last few days!

(photo by Jim Diloreto USNM)

Enter Posa Skelton, the Coordinator of the Pacific Islands Network for Taxonomy, who is based in Fiji and had many pictures of sea stars to identify and other echinoderms to share!

Just the thing to break up the winter monotony!
So, today: TROPICAL SEA CUCUMBERS from FIJI!!

UPDATE!!!! The knowledgeable Dr. Alex Kerr at the University of Guam has provided me with up to date identifications of the animals below!!! Enjoy them with authoritative confidence!!

Yeeha!!

Bohadschia vitiensis (Cuverian tubules are being emitted as a defence!!)
The oh-so sexy Holothuria (Halodeima) edulis

Actinopyga echinites

Stichopus herrmanii (and probably the one below it also) Pearsonothuria graeffei
Holothuria (Microthele) fuscopunctata (and the one below it)Holothuria (Microthele) whitmaei
Stichopus chloronotus
WITH MORE TROPICAL ECHINODERMS LATER THIS WEEK!!