| Demospongiae |
Poecilosclerida |
Chondropsidae |
Batzella rubra |
5 |
Originally placed under genus Keratilum. Soft cushions with wide oscules on elevations. Orange to salmon skin; interior bright orange. Creamy, lighter colored stripes radiate from an equally lighter oscular rim. Spicules are straight strongyles to strongyloxeas, with one end slightly thicker, almost like a subtylostyle. This is most likely the same as Batzella rosea van Soest, 1984. |
(Alcolado, 1984) |
red,orange,encrusting,massive,soft |
| Demospongiae |
Poecilosclerida |
Chondropsidae |
Batzella sp. creamy salmon |
6 |
Thick encrustations, or masses, with irregular lobes. Skin color creamy, over an orange internal tissue, producing an overal withish salmon color. Consistency soft. Spicules are straight strongyles with one of the sides slightly engrossed and the other slighlty pointed, making them look like subtylostyles. Spicules are equal in shape to co-existing Batzella rubra, but shorter in length and slightly stouter. Needs to be compared to Batzella rosea van Soest, 1984. |
|
orange,cream,pink-lilac,tube,massive,lobate,soft |
| Demospongiae |
Poecilosclerida |
Chondropsidae |
Strongylacidon griseum |
5 |
Irregular masses to bushes, with protrusions tending to form or forming tubes with oscules terminated in transparent collars. Often growing on gorgonians. Color light gray to light purple or pink. The skeleton is reinforced by calcareous alga of the type Jania, with megasclere spicules tornotes and microsclere spicules sigmas and chelae. Also known as Strongylacidon osburnensis (George & Wilson, 1929). |
(Schmidt, 1870) |
gray,pink-lilac,tube,massive,bushy,soft |
| Demospongiae |
Poecilosclerida |
Coelosphaeridae |
Lissodendoryx isodictyalis |
8 |
Light greenish, bluish to grayish, soft crumbly masses with oscular lobes or tubes growing on mangrove roots or on the bottom of lagoons or tidal channels. L. isodictyalis and L. carolinensis Wilson, 1911 are similar in external shape and spicule complement and co-occur in some localities of the northern Atlantic. The latter has two instead on one size clase of microsclere spicules sigmas and chelae. Of those specimens in which we examined microscopically they had a single size class of these spicules conforming to L. isodictyalis. |
(Carter, 1882) |
blue,green,gray,massive,tube,crumbly,soft |
| Demospongiae |
Poecilosclerida |
Coelosphaeridae |
Lissodendoryx sigmata |
1 |
Orange-yellow fistules arising from a body buried in sand. |
(de Laubenfels, 1949) |
orange-yellow,encrusting,papillated,soft |
| Demospongiae |
Poecilosclerida |
Crambeidae |
Monanchora arbuscula |
6 |
Also known as Monanchora barbadensis Hechtel, 1969 and M. unguifera (de Laubenfels, 1953). Bright scarlet encrustations to thick or thin bushes. Encrusting specimens with oscules scattered, marked by a white collar and a star pattern of exhalant canals, although these sometimes are not discernible. Erect specimens with many surface knobs or lamellae and oscules on top of tube-like elevations; a lightly colored vein pattern can or cannot be evident. It stains the fingers when handled. Often specimens lack one or more categories of microsclere spicules, making identification problematic. |
(Duchassaing & Michelotti) |
red,orange,massive,encrusting,bushy,tough,soft |
| Demospongiae |
Poecilosclerida |
Desmacellidae |
Biemna caribea |
3 |
Also known from The Caribbean as Biemna tubulata Dendy, 1905 (but is an Indian Ocean name). Yellow encrustations or oscular masses or sprawling tubules and branches. It grows on mangrove stilt roots or erect substrata on lagoonal environments. |
Pulitzer-Finali, 1986 |
yellow,branching,tube,massive,lobate,encrusting,soft |
| Demospongiae |
Poecilosclerida |
Desmacellidae |
Biemna cribaria |
4 |
Light brown rather circular sponge that lives partially buried in sediments; surface with irregular processes, and elevated oscular areas with shallow internal exhalant canals. It is reminiscent of dirty old cow dung. Also known as Biemna oxeata van Soest & Stentoft, 1988. |
Alcolado & Gotera, 1986 |
brown,massive,crumbly |
| Demospongiae |
Poecilosclerida |
Desmacellidae |
Biemna sp.-yellow tough cushions |
3 |
Small tough but crumbly and mucosy cushions with a yellow punctiform surface. Subsuperficial color is dark purple, some specimens thus appearing darker, especially after collecting. Different from Biemna caribea Pulitzer-Finali, 1986 and from B. cribaria (Alcolado & Gotera, 1986). Spicules are styles, 2-3 categories of sigmas, 2 categories of microxea, and raphides. It needs to be compared to Biemna trisigmata Mothes & Campos, 2004, from North Brazil, with which shares many characters. |
|
orange-yellow,brown,yellow,purple-violet,massive,tough,crumbly |
| Demospongiae |
Poecilosclerida |
Desmacellidae |
Neofibularia nolitangere |
9 |
"Touch-me-not sponge." In the Bahamas it occurs as thick encrustation to tall masses with scattered wide and deep atria, maroon to orange-brown; oscules inside atria are directed diagonally upwards. In other Caribbean areas it consists of large vases/tubes, single or in groups, while in the Bahama it appears as if these vases had laterally fused. It produces strong itching when handled. |
(Duchassaing & Michelotti, 1864) |
red,brown,orange,cinnamon-tan,vase,massive,crumbly |
| Demospongiae |
Poecilosclerida |
Desmacididae |
Desmapsamma anchorata |
5 |
Also known as Holopsamma helwigi de Laubenfels, 1936. Soft pinkish masses with or without branches; oscules scattered and usually elevated on volcano-like mounds; skin is creamy-white and contrasts with the strong orange of the interior tissue. When handled it releases abundant mucus. Bahamas populations do not have microsclere spicules. Spicules of Florida photos were not examined. |
(Carter, 1882) |
pink-lilac,orange,cream,branching,lobate,tube,soft |
| Demospongiae |
Poecilosclerida |
Hymedesmiidae |
Phorbas amaranthus |
13 |
Red to purple, thin encrustations to thick cushions. It stains the fingers when handled. Surface with fields of round, slightly elevated areas which are fields of inhalant pore sieves. Oscules scatteres, slightly elevated or in volcano-like mounds. Florida populations grow upright, masive to lobate. |
Duchassaing & Michelotti, 1864 |
red,purple-violet,white,encrusting,massive,lobate,soft |
| Demospongiae |
Poecilosclerida |
Iotrochotidae |
Iotrochota arenosa |
5 |
Thickly encrusting, irregular outline, deep purple to black, but somewhat transparent, usually partly buried on sediments; it produces abundant mucus which stains the fingers. Material from the Bahamas does not have birotule microsclere spicules, and megaslclere spicules are thin, curved to straight strongyles, often with a slight swelling at one or both ends. The lack of style spicules and birotules in Bahamian material, parallel what is found in local populations of Iotrochota birolulata (Higgin, 1877), which Rützler et al. (2007) named I. atra (Whitfield, 1901). A specimen from the Florida Keys had the usual megasclere spicule complement of the species (curved styles and strongyles, some oxeote; straight strongyles), but also lacked birotula microsclere spicules. This species is thicker than Artemisina melana van Soest, 1984, with it which may be confused in the field. Encrusting reef deep wall specimens with a brightly colored green skin, pictured in this catalogue, were assigned tentatively to I. birotulata, pending detailed examination of the spicules. |
Rützler, Maldonado, Piantoni & Riesgo, 2007 |
black,purple-violet,encrusting,soft,tough |
| Demospongiae |
Poecilosclerida |
Iotrochotidae |
Iotrochota birotulata |
19 |
Also known from the Bahamas as Iotrochota atra Rützler, Maldonado, Piantoni and Riesgo, 2007. Deep purple to black, repent to erect, single or divided branches. Skin often with parrot green tinges; upon manipulation, the skin retracts; it stains the fingers deep purple, releasing mucus. Oscules aligned usually on top of branches, may be slightly elevated. Sometimes found as clusters of tubes with top oscules. Fully encrusting deep reef wall specimens with vividly colored skin are tentatively assigned to this species instead of to I. arenosa in lieu of their color and lack of sand accumulation characteristic of the latter; also, because in mid-depth reef caves branching specimens may have wide encrusting bases; further detailed comparisons of spicules are pending. Rützler et al. (2007) decided that the material from The Bahamas, lacking birotulate microsclere spicules and style megasclere spicules, should be a different species which they named I. atra (Whitfield, 1901). But since its encrusting counterpart, I. arenosa, also lack birotules and styles in the Bahamas, we feel it to be the result of a regional condition (of low silicon content?) that affects both species. |
(Higgin, 1877) |
green,black,yellow,branching,encrusting,tube,bushy,tough,soft |
| Demospongiae |
Poecilosclerida |
Merliidae |
Merlia normani |
1 |
Orange, thin and hard encrustation on the underside of laminar corals or on cave walls. Characteristic clavadisc spicules. This species is a sclerosponge but may be devoid of basal massive calcareous skeleton (form previously known as Merlia deficiens Vacelet, 1980, see van Soest, 1984b). Our material apparently does not have a basal skeleton but we did not check for it. Original name from Arch. Madeira, W. Africa, but seems to be a widespread species from the Indian Ocean, The Mediterranean, E. and W. Atlantic. |
Kirkpatrick, 1908 |
orange,encrusting,soft |
| Demospongiae |
Poecilosclerida |
Microcionidae |
Artemisina melana |
5 |
Thin, soft black sheet; purple inside; stains the fingers purple. Could be confused with Iotrochota arenosa, which is always thicker and releases more mucus. It is also known as Artemisina nigra sensu Alcolado & Gotera, 1986. |
van Soest, 1984 |
black,encrusting,soft |
| Demospongiae |
Poecilosclerida |
Microcionidae |
Clathria (Clathria) faviformis |
8 |
Orange-yellow irregular masses with rugose surface, often growing among algae in vertical cliffs. It may be confused with massive or cavity-filling specimens of Agelas citrina Alcolado, 1987. It is more crumbly than A. citrina. |
Lehnert & van Soest, 1996 |
orange,orange-yellow,spherical,massive,soft,crumbly |
| Demospongiae |
Poecilosclerida |
Microcionidae |
Clathria (Microciona calla |
5 |
Red, thick encrustation on gorgonian branches. Surface looks pierced by numerous, contiguous perforations. Transparent skin outlines oscules and exhalant canals. |
(de Laubenfels, 1934) |
orange,red,encrusting,soft |
| Demospongiae |
Poecilosclerida |
Microcionidae |
Clathria (Microciona) bulbotoxa |
1 |
Thinly encrusting bright red orange, with slighlty evident exhalant canals in a star pattern. The spiculation consists of stout, curved tylostyles 350-480 x 10-15 µm, straight subtylostyles 275-450 µm, toxa bulging towards the center (hence the name bulbotoxa) 45-180 µm, and twisted isochelae 12-15 µm. It is difficult to distinguish it in the field from other bright orange encrusting sponges such as Clathria spinosa Wilson, 1902 or Timea ?micraster (Lehnert & Heimler, 2001). |
van Soest, 1984 |
red,orange,encrusting,soft |
| Demospongiae |
Poecilosclerida |
Microcionidae |
Clathria (Microciona) echinata |
1 |
Originally placed under genus Axociella. Also known as Clathria (Microciona) simpsoni van Soest, 1984. Bright red vases, single or in groups, with the outer surface very spiny. May be confused with Mycale laxissima (Duchassaing & Michelotti, 1864), but the latter is usually dark purple, is much more mucous, and has a different spicule complement. |
(Alcolado, 1984) |
orange,vase,tough |
| Demospongiae |
Poecilosclerida |
Microcionidae |
Clathria (Microciona) spinosa |
8 |
Bright orange encrustations with smooth to spiny surface. Frequently found under platy corals, with their oscules showing up at the coral plate edge, in a way similar to Mycale laevis (Carter, 1882). |
Wilson, 1902 |
red,orange,encrusting,soft |
| Demospongiae |
Poecilosclerida |
Microcionidae |
Clathria (Thalysias) ?minuta |
1 |
Originally described under he genus Rhaphidophlus, as R. minutus. Thinly encrusting, orange encrustations, with a rather transparent but similarly colored skin that conform a vein pattern of the exhalant canal system that opens into oscules. Spicules are styles with slightly mucronated heads, subtylostyles in two categories, chelae and small toxa. Originally described as red. Identity pending thorough comparison with other thinly encrusting Clathria such as C. venosa (Alcolado, 1984) and C. hymedesmioides Van Soest, 1984. For Bahamian waters, C. ?venosa and C. ?minuta have similar spiculation. For co-existing specimens, we have assigned to C. ?venosa those with a whitish transparent skin over a red tissue, and to C. ?minuta those with the skin of the same color of the internal tissue (orange in this case). |
(van Soest, 1984) |
orange,encrusting,soft |
| Demospongiae |
Poecilosclerida |
Microcionidae |
Clathria (Thalysias) ?schoenus |
7 |
Placed also under genera Aulospongus, Microciona, Rhaphidophlus and Thalysias. Also known as Clathria raraechelae (van Soest, 1984). Thin encrustations to tangled branches with transparent skin and red and yellow interior (often speckled). Exhalant canals in a star pattern centering in the oscules are evident. Could be confused with Clathria venosa (Alcolado, 1984)(=Microciona microchela Hechtel, 1965), but the latter has a white pinkish skin with deep orange interior and the star pattern of canals is much larger. They have also differences in spiculation, the most important being that styles have a smooth head in C. schoenus and a rugose one in C. venosa. The identification is tentative for the Bahamas material because spicule development there is low and not all spicules are present. Southern Caribbean populations have stouter spicules and there is a small category of chelae (=microchela). |
(de Laubenfels, 1936) |
red,white,yellow,orange,brown,cream,cinnamon-tan,orange-yellow,encrusting,branching,soft |
| Demospongiae |
Poecilosclerida |
Microcionidae |
Clathria (Thalysias) ?venosa |
6 |
Also placed under genera Microciona, Thalysias and Rhaphidophlus. Also known as Microciona microchela Hechtel, 1965, Clathria hechteli Hooper, 1996 and Rhaphidophlus oxeotus van Soest, 1984; erroneously synonymyzed to Clathria schoenus (de Laubenfels, 1936). Encrustations with a transparent to whitish/pinkish dermis and a dull red interior. The dermis outlines a wide star pattern of exhalant canals radiating from the oscules. Spicules are styles with slightly mucronated heads, subtylostyles in two categories, chelae and small toxa. The identification for The Bahamas material is tentative because not all spicule types or C. venosa are present; southern Caribbeaen populations have a small category of chela (microchela); also missing in the Bahamas are intermediate-size toxa, and the long, oxeote toxa. The whitish color of the dermis and its conspicuous vein pattern of the surface plus structural style spicules with mucronated heads (in addition to chelae and toxa) may distinguish it from other Clathria species. But it could also belong to Clathria minuta van Soest, 1984, also pictured in this catalogue. For co-existing specimens, we have assigned to C. ?venosa those with a whitish transparent skin over a red tissue, and to C. ?minuta those with the skin of the same color of the internal tissue (orange in this case). |
(Alcolado, 1984) |
red,white,cream,pink-lilac,encrusting,soft |
| Demospongiae |
Poecilosclerida |
Microcionidae |
Clathria (Thalysias) virgultosa |
8 |
Previously known as Clathria juniperina (Lamarck, 1814). Red, erect to repent branches, single or ramified; scattered oscules; surface nodulose. There are thickly encrusting specimens in high energy environments (shallow wave-exposed or in tidal currents). |
(Lamarck, 1814) |
red,orange,white,branching,encrusting,tough |
| Demospongiae |
Poecilosclerida |
Microcionidae |
Clathrina ?panis |
2 |
Anastomosed lemon yellow tubes forming cushions from which a few oscules raise. Tubes appear clearly separated of each other in thick sections, lined tangentially by spicules. Cryptic species from mangrove roots and underside of caves and corals in shallow water. C. panis is the only Caribbean species (Florida) redescribed by Klautau and Valentine (2003), with tri and tetractines. In The Bahamas, there is another cryptic yellow calcareous sponge, in which the tubes are more compact, forming cushions with oscules, having only triactines (see Clathrina? sp. 1). We have photographed but not collected another yellow calcareous sponge (included hereis as Clathrina? sp. 2). |
(Haeckel, 1872) |
yellow,encrusting,massive,soft |
| Demospongiae |
Poecilosclerida |
Microcionidae |
Pandaros acanthifolium |
3 |
Dark red to purple bushes, crown with oscular tubes or lobes; surface very irregular and contorted. Stains the fingers when handled. |
Duchassaing & Michelotti, 1864 |
purple-violet,branching,tube,bushy,tough,soft |
| Demospongiae |
Poecilosclerida |
Mycalidae |
Mycale laevis |
6 |
Bright orange yellow crumbly masses filling crevices or growing below laminar corals; oscules and skin tend to be transparent. Bahamas specimens have as megasclere spicules strongyles instead of styles-subtylostyles of other areas (data from Loh et al., 2010). |
(Carter, 1882) |
yellow,orange,orange-yellow,encrusting,crumbly,tough |
| Demospongiae |
Poecilosclerida |
Mycalidae |
Mycale laxissima |
11 |
Dark red, brown to purple or violet barrels-thick tubes, single or in groups, with a transparent collar lining the oscules/atria. Surface is spinuous owing to arising fibers. Its mucosy tissue falls off when handled, staining the fingers. It may also be encrusting or fill cavities in crevices. It may be confused with Clathria spinosa, but the latter is stiffer and has a much spinuous surface. The lack of the microsclere spicule complement in specimens from certain areas generated many synonyms (see World Porifera Database; van Soest et al., 2009). |
(Duchassaing & Michelotti, 1864) |
red,brown,purple-violet,orange,encrusting,tube,vase,massive,lobate,tough,soft |
| Demospongiae |
Poecilosclerida |
Mycalidae |
Mycale microsigmatosa |
7 |
Thick encrustations to repent branches with scattered membranous oscules. Surface smooth or with spined elevations (possibly made up by worm tubes or hydroid stalks). Skin transparent and thick; the orange to red color looks like curd beneath the dermis. Material from the Bahamas did not have microsclere spicules, but the identification was made from the skeletal arrangement, texture and color. Florida material only have part of the microsclere spicule complement, and variable among specimens. |
(Arndt, 1927) |
red,orange,orange-yellow,bushy,branching,encrusting,massive,soft,crumbly |
| Demospongiae |
Poecilosclerida |
Raspailiidae |
Ectyoplasia ferox |
11 |
Orange to orange-yellow thick encrustations with oscules on volcano-like elevations with wide rims; surface smooth, although it may be uneven. In larger specimens volcanos can grow as tubes. Cave or reef-wall specimens can be thinner with less elevated oscules, which can have a transparent collar. Tidal channel specimens can be rather irregular, lobed, with furrows and grooves. Ectyoplasia ferox explicata described by Wiedenmayer (1977) from The Bahamas is Dragmacidon explicata, a valid species, different from this one. |
(Duchassaing & Michelotti, 1864) |
orange,yellow,cinnamon-tan,orange-yellow,encrusting,massive,tube,lobate,crumbly |
| Demospongiae |
Poecilosclerida |
Tedaniidae |
Tedania ignis |
7 |
Bright orange, irregular masses with oscules located in lower mounds. The allocation of specimens to either T. ignis or T. klausi Wulff, 2006 was made after the photos were taken, so identification here is tentative. T. klausi has tall oscular chimneys with vertical inflated canals forming stripes. Very small, crack-filling papillated individuals growing in the open reef are herein arbitrarily refered to T. ignis. |
(Duchassaing & Michelotti, 1864) |
red,orange,blue,massive,papillated,crumbly,soft |
| Demospongiae |
Poecilosclerida |
Tedaniidae |
Tedania klausi |
2 |
Bright orange to vermillion masses with upright oscular chimneys which have vertical stripes made of inflated canals. The allocation of specimens to either T. klausi or T. ignis (Duchassaing & Michelotti, 1864) was made after the photos were taken, so identification here is tentative. T. ignis does not have the tall oscular chimneys; oscules lie on lower cones or flush to the surface. |
Wulff, 2006 |
orange,massive,soft,crumbly |
