The Sea Pig, a relatively unknown but fascinating animal, is a creature that is actually part of the sea cucumber family rather than actual pigs.
According to Discovery, the Sea Pig actually refers to the "Scotoplane," a genus of deep-sea creatures that got its name from its distinctive pink color and rather porky appearance. In addition, the Sea Pig is the only known species of sea cucumber that uses legged locomotion.
The Sea Pig has what you call "tube feet." Although other species of the sea cucumber also has these, the Sea Pig has the longest. As noted, these tube feet are connected to a "water vascular system" that have water coursing through them, giving the Sea Pig its distinctive shape.
The size of Sea Pig is only less than a half foot long making them really tiny. They can be usually found dwelling at the bottom of nearly all of the world's oceans and according to Extreme Science, they are the most plentiful species down there.
As reported by Wired, the Sea Pig does not have as many predators compared to other sea cucumber species.
What's fascinating about this creature is that their legs are so many that they even have one on their head! Unfortunately, those are not for walking when they accidentally trip over but, rather, to help them find food even in pitch black darkness.
However, even though they are fascinating, the creature's body can be quite delicate. As reported, catch one in a net and most likely, the Sea Pig will disintegrate.
Despite the name, they don't exactly taste like bacon. In fact, they can even get you killed, according to Marine Biologist, David Pawson.
He shared, "They have toxic chemicals in their skin, which makes them unpalatable to fishes and things like that."
It's so toxic that even the fish avoid them! So before firing up the frying pan for some deep fried Sea Pigs, better do some reading first.
