...why yes it is, dear Virginia! Did you know that sea cucumbers spawn (i.e. have sex) by raising their "head" ends and releasing egg or sperm from special little pores? Yeah, I knew that too! But what I DIDN'T know is that THIS particular species buries one end in the sand and starts spawning from a diagonal position! What an acrobat!! I took a closer look & I think it's a male, and yep it was definitely happy to see me!
Here's a close-up of the ribbon of sperm emerging from this guy's amorous head. Poor cuke, it was all alone, there were no other members his species spawning near him. Lack of proximity to spawning females means that there are no eggs in the water, and he's probably just wasting his wild oats. I patted his sorry head and consoled him, "sorry dude, but don't be so sad - there's no use crying over over spilled leche!"
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