- Notes: Tan/pinkish/orange, usually smooth tubes; if several, they usually arise directly from the substratum base of the sponge. Similar to Agelas conifera (Schmidt, 1870) in color and shape, but the latter usually shows short tubes growing on one another all attached to a narrow base, conforming clubs or antlers. Wide, barrel-shaped specimens may have deep recesses in the body, which may make them difficult to distinguish from Agelas cerebrum Assman, van Soest & Köck, 2001. In the latter, recesses are located rather uniformly throughout the body and there are scattered orifices in the areas between recesses. A. tubulata is rare in the northern Bahamas, where A. conifera and A. cerebrum are the more common similar forms. More common in southern Bahamas and South Florida (especially barrel-shaped specimens), where A. conifera is rare but exists. A. tubulata and A. conifera could be considered geographical variants of the same species, but the two forms co-exist in areas like Bahamas Jamaica and Belize. Spicules are acanthostyles.
- Author Reference: Lehnert & van Soest, 1996
- Link: World Porifera Database
| Color: |
| brown |
| cinnamon-tan |
| orange |
| Morphology: |
| tube |
| vase |
| Consistency: |
| tough |
| Locations: |
| Bahamas - Great Inagua |
| Bahamas - Hogsty Reef |
| Bahamas - Little Inagua |
| Bahamas - Little San Salvador |
| Bahamas - Mira por Vos Cays |
| Leeward Islands - Saint Eustatius |
| United States - Florida Keys |
| United States - Florida, Boynton Beach |
Images of Agelas tubulata :