Broad-bladed tree sponge

broad-bladed tree sponge
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Porifera
Class: Demospongiae
Order: Poecilosclerida
Suborder: Microcionina
Family: Microcionidae
Subfamily: Microcioninae
Genus: Clathria
Subgenus: Clathria (Clathria)
Species: C. dayi
Binomial name
Clathria (Clathria) dayi
Lévi, 1963

The broad-bladed tree sponge, Clathria (Clathria) dayi, is a species of demosponge.[1] It is known from the west coast of South Africa and around Cape Point to False Bay. It is probably endemic to this region.[1]

Description

The broad-bladed tree sponge may grow to 20 cm in height and be 2–4 cm thick. It is a massive erect sponge, having broad flat blades extending from a small stalk. It has a slightly hairy texture, but is smooth in appearance. It is bright red in colour.[1][2]

Habitat

This sponge lives on rocky reefs in 15-272m of water.

References

  1. 1 2 3 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. ↑ Jones, Georgina. A field guide to the marine animals of the Cape Peninsula. SURG, Cape Town, 2008. ISBN 978-0-620-41639-9
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Clathria dayi.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 1/31/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.