In Iran, the sandfish, Holothuria scabra is the most exploited sea cucumber species which is harvested at Qeshm Island because of the high demand from Indian and Bangladeshi traders. Some specimens of the sea cucumber were collected by snorkellers diving at depth of 5 m at Qeshm Island in the Persian Gulf. An examination identified the sea cucumbers as H. scabra. Previous research has not found this species in the Persian Gulf. This report is the first to document the highly valued commercial sea cucumber in the Persian Gulf region.

Sea cucumbers have many important and useful properties known for human health. In this respect and with the lack of scientific knowledge about them, this study has been conducted to identify the present species in the northern part of the Persian Gulf. Two species of sea cucumber (one belonging to the genus Holothuria and the other to Stichopus) were collected in the subtidal zone of the northern part of Qeshm Island (Persian Gulf) via SCUBA diving. The literature review on the distribution was determined to be the first report of H. sacabra and S. hermanni from Qeshm Island (Persian Gulf). The species identification was accomplished through morphological keys and review of their ossicles.