Observations on the Anatomy, Both Macroscopical, of the Intestinal Tract and of Accompanying Organs, and on the Physiology of Digestion in Holothuria Atra Jager, with Ad¬ditional observations on the Eco¬logy of Holothurians and their Po¬ssible Role in the Destruction of Coral Reefs

摘要

Holothuria atra is a large species which feeds upon very coarse Send and coral rubble from which it derives nourishment in the form of bacteria, which are ingested by certain amebocytes in the lumen of the intestine, and other, organic material (detritus) which is 3Cted upon by extracellular enzymes. Products of digestion pass through the intestinal epithelium by active absorption into haemal lacunae which surround the fore- and midgut, and are distributed to the dorsal haemal plexus and into the rete mirabile.