The sea cucumber plays an unusual role in its ecosystem. | National Geographic

With the holiday season upon us, you may have heard of the “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy,” but what about the “Dance of the Sea Cucumber”? We observed this sea cucumber slowly lift off from the seafloor and launch into a mesmerizing slow “dance” during an #Okeanos #SeascapeAlaska dive off the coast of Kodiak, Alaska. While we most often see sea cucumbers (or holothurians) resting on the seafloor, chowing down on sediment or debris raining down from above, some sea cukes are actually masters of