| Geodia gibberosa | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Porifera |
| Class: | Demospongiae |
| Order: | Tetractinellida |
| Family: | Geodiidae |
| Genus: | Geodia |
| Species: | G. gibberosa |
| Binomial name | |
| Geodia gibberosa Lamarck, 1815 | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Geodia gibberosa, commonly known as the white encrusting sponge, [1] is a species of sea sponge found in the Caribbean. It is eaten by hawksbill turtles. [2] It was first described by Lamarck in 1815. [3]
Geodia gibberosa is a large, dense sponge. It can be white or pale tan when exposed to very little light, or dark brown in areas with a lot of it. [4] It is usually in the form of a knobby, fist-like mass, often up to 50 cm in diameter. It may also occur as a spherical mass without projections and is also known to form large colonies that resemble rounded calcareous rocks. [5] Its skeleton is a bunch of needle-like spicules radiating outward from the center near the surface, much more randomly dispersed on the inside. [4]
Geodia gibberosa is found in the Bahamas, Florida, Brazil, and West Africa. [6] [4] It is commonly found in shallow waters with hard bottoms, generally in the same area as seagrasses. [4]
