Bruce LeFebvre, age 12, of Ottowa, Ontario, for his question:

What is a ‑sea cucumber?

The Chinese relish dried sea cucumber in soup. This is not, however, a proper salad cucumber. For he is an animal. He is a member of the simple echinoderm, or spiny‑skinned, group of creatures. This makes him a relative of the starfish and first cousin to the sand dollar and the sea urchin.

In appearance, the sea cucumber resembles a cucumber‑sized caterpillar. His body is bedecked with five rows of suckers, or tube feet, which he can extend to become fingers or withdraw to become mere pimples. The tube feet are used when the sea cucumber wishes to attach himself to a rock. He uses his fleshy muscles to inch along the ocean floor.