Polycheira is a genus of holothurians (sea cucumbers) found in tropical Indo-Pacific.
A curious pattern of reproduction has been found in Polycheira rufescens where specimens change their sex from male to female and from female to male in a reproductive season Arakaki, S. et al., Sex change and spatial distribution pattern in an intertidal holothurian Polycheira rufescens in the reproductive season. Res. Popul. Ecol. 1999, vol. 41, No 3
Systematics Polycheira appear to be closely related to the genus Chiridota (both belong to the subfamily Chiridotinae).Kerr, A.M. Phylogeny of the Apodan Holothurians (Echinodermata) inferred from morphology. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society (2001), 133 The type species of the genus is Polycheira rufescens (Brandt, 1835).
The following species are recognised in the genus Polycheira:MarineSpecies.org - Polycheira Polycheira echinata Heding, 1928 Polycheira nusalaut Setyastuti & Lüter, 2026Setyastuti, A., & Lüter, C. (2026). The sea cucumber order Apodida (Echinodermata: Holothuroidea) from Indonesia: description of a new species and species checklist. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, 74, 165–196. https://doi.org/10.26107/RBZ-2026-0014 Polycheira rufescens (Brandt, 1835)
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