Sponges, the members of the phylum Porifera, are a basal animal clade as a sister of the diploblasts. They are multicellular organisms that have bodies full of pores and channels allowing water to circulate through them, consisting of jelly-like mesohyl sandwiched between two thin layers of cells.
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.
Arturia canariensis, commonly known as the yellow calcareous sponge, is a species of sponge in the family Clathrinidae. It is found in shallow seas in the Canary Islands, Cape Verde, the Adriatic Sea and the Caribbean Sea. The specific epithet "canariensis" was given to this species because it was first described from Lanzarote in the Canary Islands.
Aplysina archeri, also known as a stove-pipe sponge because of its shape, is a species of tube sponge that has long tube-like structures of cylindrical shape. Although they can grow in a single tube, they often grow in large groups of up to 22 tubes. A single tube can grow up to 5 feet (1.5 m) high and 3 inches (7.6 cm) thick. These sponges mostly live in the Western Atlantic Ocean: the Caribbean, The Bahamas, Florida, and Bonaire. Like most sponges, they are filter feeders; they eat food such as plankton or suspended detritus as it passes them. Very little is known about their behavioral patterns except for their feeding ecology and reproductive biology. Tubes occur in varying colors including lavender, pink, gray, and brown. They reproduce both by asexual and sexual reproduction. These sponges take hundreds of years to grow and never stop growing until they die. Snails are among their natural predators. The population density of these sponges is decreasing because of oil spills and other pollution.
Tethya aurantium, also known as the golf ball sponge or orange puffball sponge, is a species of sea sponge belonging to the family Tethyidae. It is spherical in shape, with a warty surface, and grows to about 10 cm in diameter. Oscula are present on the upper surface. The surface has sharp protruding spicules which can cause skin irritation if touched.
Callyspongia (Cladochalina) aculeata, commonly known as the branching vase sponge is a species of sea sponge in the family Callyspongiidae. Poriferans are typically characterized by ostia, pores that filter out plankton, with an osculum as the opening which water leaves through, and choanocytes trap food particles.
Suberites ficus is a species of sponge in the family Suberitidae. It is sometimes known as the fig sponge or orange sponge.
Millepora alcicornis, or sea ginger, is a species of colonial fire coral with a calcareous skeleton. It is found on shallow water coral reefs in the tropical west Atlantic Ocean. It shows a variety of different morphologies depending on its location. It feeds on plankton and derives part of its energy requirements from microalgae found within its tissues. It is an important member of the reef building community and subject to the same threats as other corals. It can cause painful stings to unwary divers.
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.
Iotrochota birotulata, commonly known as the green finger sponge, is a species of sea sponge in the family Iotrochotidae. It is found in shallow waters in the Caribbean Sea.
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.
Mussa is a genus of stony coral in the family Faviidae. It is monotypic, being represented by the single species Mussa angulosa, commonly known as the spiny or large flower coral. It is found on reefs in shallow waters in the Caribbean Sea, the Bahamas and the Gulf of Mexico.
Callyspongia crassa, commonly known as prickly tube-sponge, is a species of sponge found from the Red Sea to the Seychelles. Its wide flexible brown tube with exterior protuberances can appear as a single tube or as clusters of tubes and can reach up to 50 centimeters in size. Like many other sea sponges, it is primarily used for marine drugs as they have many bioactive components and properties. They also play an important role in marine reef and benthic communities, as they constantly filter water and act as habitats for smaller organisms. As sea sponges, they have the ability to reproduce both sexually and asexually.
Aplysina aerophoba is a species of sponge in the family Aplysinidae. It is a yellow, tube-forming or encrusting sponge and is native to the eastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea; the type locality is the Adriatic Sea.
Briareum asbestinum, commonly known as the corky sea finger, is a species of a soft coral in the family Briareidae. It inhabits coral reefs and rocky bottoms in the Caribbean, Bahamas, and Florida, often growing to 30 cm at depths of one to 40 metres.
Aplysina fulva, known as the scattered pore rope sponge, is a species of sponge in the family Aplysinidae. The species is found in the Caribbean Sea as well as off the coast of Brazil.
Aplysina cauliformis, also known as the row pore rope sponge or rope sponge, is a species of sea sponge in the family Aplysinidae. It is commonly found in shallow reefs across the tropical Atlantic Ocean, including the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. This sponge typically exhibits a brownish-pink or purple coloration and branches as parts of its morphology. It was first described by H.J. Carter in 1882 under the name Luffaria cauliformis.
