| Agelas dispar | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Porifera |
| Class: | Demospongiae |
| Order: | Agelasida |
| Family: | Agelasidae |
| Genus: | Agelas |
| Species: | A. dispar |
| Binomial name | |
| Agelas dispar | |
| Synonyms [1] | |
| |
Agelas dispar is a species of demosponge in the family Agelasidae. It lives on shallow-water reefs in the Caribbean Sea and around the West Indies.
Agelas dispar is the type species of the genus and was first described in 1864 by the French naturalist Édouard Placide Duchassaing de Fontbressin and the Italian naturalist Giovanni Michelotti. They deposited the holotype in Amsterdam. In 1932, the zoologists M. Burton and H.S. Rao, unaware that the holotype was still in existence, deposited a neotype in the Natural History Museum in London, but this specimen has since disappeared. [2]
Agelas dispar forms massive irregularly-shaped, sometimes bulbous mounds or may be encrusting. It can grow to as much as 30 cm (12 in) across. The consistency is spongy but firm; the surface is smooth with many exhalent pores of irregular shape and size, often in shallow pits. The colour externally is pinkish-brown, reddish-brown or deep brown. Internally there are large cavities, many primary canals 2 to 8 mm (0.1 to 0.3 in) across and narrow secondary canals. There is a fibrous, tightly-meshed skeleton made of spongin with ascending and tangential fibres. The spicules consist of bundles of acanthostyles (one end blunt, one end pointed and covered with 7 to 12 whorls of spines). [2] [3] [4]
Agelas dispar is found in the Caribbean Sea and around the West Indies; its preferred habitat is shallow-water reefs. [4]
Agelas clathrodes, also known as the orange elephant ear sponge, is a species of sea sponge. It lives on reefs in the Caribbean, usually more than 10 metres (33 ft) below the surface of the ocean. It takes various forms, and its color is reddish orange.
Spongia is a genus of marine sponges in the family Spongiidae, originally described by Carl Linnaeus in 1759, containing more than 60 species. Some species, including Spongia officinalis, are used as cleaning tools, but have mostly been replaced in that use by synthetic or plant material.
Ircinia strobilina is a species of sponge in the family Irciniidae. It is grey or shiny black in colour, with spiny structures (conules) dotting the surface. The spiny structures are interconnected by ridges, though not arranged in an orderly lattice. This species is globular and massive in shape, but usually no more than 0.3 metres (1 ft) across. I. strobilina is lobed and spherical and has a tough consistency. The large excurrent pores are located in depressions at the top of the sponge. Many smaller incurrent pores are scattered across the surface, more densely at the sides.
Ircinia is a genus of sea sponges in the family Irciniidae.
Amphimedon compressa, the erect rope sponge, red tree sponge, red tubular sponge, or red sponge is a demosponge found in southern Florida, the Caribbean Sea, and the Bahamas. It can be deep red, orange, brown, or black.
Ptilocaulis is a genus of demosponges. The species within this genus are usually red or orange. They are often called tree sponges, as they grow many branches from a single stem resembling trees. They can grow to large size.
Agelas is a genus of sea sponge in the class Demospongiae.
Agelas schmidti, commonly known as the brown tubular sponge, is a species of demosponge. It occurs at moderate depths in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea and often has a colonial coral growing over the surface. The type locality is Puerto Rico.
Parazoanthus swiftii, commonly known as the golden zoanthid, is a species of coral in the order Zoantharia which grows symbiotically on several species of sponge. It is found in shallow waters in the Caribbean Sea and western Atlantic Ocean.
Neofibularia nolitangere, commonly known as the touch-me-not sponge, is a species of sea sponge in the family Biemnidae. It is found in shallow waters in the Western Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea.
Aplysina insularis, commonly known as the yellow-green candle sponge or yellow candle sponge, is a species of sea sponge found on reefs in the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico.
Agelas flabelliformis, also known as the elephant ear sponge, is a species of demosponge. It takes the form of a large leathery slender flap and is found in the Caribbean area at depths down to 100 metres (330 ft).
Neopetrosia proxima is a species of marine petrosiid sponge native to the tropical and subtropical waters of the western Atlantic Ocean.
Neopetrosia subtriangularis is a species of marine petrosiid sponges native to the waters off Florida and the Caribbean Sea. They superficially resemble staghorn corals.
Neopetrosia is a genus of marine petrosiid sponges. It was first established by the American spongiologist Max Walker de Laubenfels in 1932. It contains these 27 species:
Thorectidae is a family of sea sponges in the order Dictyoceratida.
Agelas tubulata is a species of demosponge. It is tube-shaped or vase-shaped and variable in colour. It is found in the Caribbean area and along the coasts of Brazil at depths of between about 70 and 90 m. It was first described by Lehnert & Rob van Soest in 1996, the type location being the Greater Antilles.
Spirastrella coccinea is a species of marine sponge in the family Spirastrellidae. It is found in the tropical western Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea, and the Gulf of Mexico.
Monanchora is a genus of demosponges belonging to the family Crambeida. The genus contains 18 species, which have been researched for their potential use in medicine.