Orange wall sponge

orange wall sponge
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Porifera
Class: Demospongiae
Order: Hadromerida
Family: Trachycladidae
Genus: Trachycladus
Species: T. spinispirulifer
Binomial name
Trachycladus spinispirulifer
(Carter, 1879)

The orange wall sponge, Trachycladus spinispirulifer, is a species of demosponge belonging to the order Hadromerida.[1] It is found in the south Atlantic and Indo-Pacific oceans. Around the South African coast, it is known from the Cape Peninsula to Cape Agulhas.[2]

Description

The orange wall sponge may grow to 20 cm thick and up to 2m in length. It is a very large firm orange-skinned sponge with a yellow interior. It grows as a wall and does not show obvious oscula.[1]

Habitat

This sponge lives on rocky reefs in 5-350m of water.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 Samaai, T. and Gibbons, M.J. 2005. Demospongiae taxonomy and biodiversity of the Benguela region on the west coast of South Africa. Afr. Nat. Hist. 1(1):1-96
  2. 1 2 Jones, Georgina. A field guide to the marine animals of the Cape Peninsula. SURG, Cape Town, 2008. ISBN 978-0-620-41639-9
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