Print species info – Sponge Guide

Demospongiae > Verongiida > Aplysinellidae > Suberea sp.-“soft Aplysina lacunosa”

Observed Characteristics:

Color:

yellow
green

Morphology:

lobate
massive
spherical
tube

Consistency:

soft
tough

Locations:

Bahamas

Species Description and Notes

Notes: It has probably being missidentified by reef workers as Aplysina lacunosa (Pallas, 1766), which is a different species also pictured here. Single or groups of globular tubes with a somewhat convoluted and heavily fouled surface. Oscules on top of lobes and tubes have a fleshy low collar; the bottom of the atrium has a concave membrane heavily perforated. It belongs to genus Suberea by its skeleton of dendritic, pithed fibers. A search for an existing name in the old literature is needed before proposing a new one. However, it may have sometimes be confused with a heavily fouled, apparently undescribed species, vis. Verongula sp.-“fouled”, also pictured here, which has a regular reticulation of pithed spongin fibers arranged in walls conforming a honeycombed pattern.