- Notes: Thin lavender-pink, soft crust, found living over the sponge Plakortis halichondroides (Wilson, 1902). Oscules of P. halichondroides are free of Xestospongia sp. tissue; there are also numerous holes on the surface that may serve as inhalant areas for the lower sponge. Spicules are strongyles 170-260 x 2.5-6.3 µm, arranged in an unispicular isotropic reticulation. We initially thought it was X. deweerdtae Lehnert & van Soest, 1999 (also pictured here), but when we found the free living sponge it turned out to be different, with larger spicules. It should be compared to Haliclona strongylophora Lehnert & van Soest, 1996 (not included herein).
| Color: |
| pink-lilac |
| Morphology: |
| encrusting |
| Consistency: |
| crumbly |
| soft |
| Locations: |
| Bahamas - Little San Salvador |
| Bahamas - San Salvador |
Images of Xestospongia sp.-thin pink sheet over Plakortis :