| Mycale grandis | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Porifera |
| Class: | Demospongiae |
| Order: | Poecilosclerida |
| Family: | Mycalidae |
| Genus: | Mycale |
| Species: | M. g. [1] |
| Binomial name | |
| Mycale grandis [1] Gray, 1867 | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Mycale grandis, the orange keyhole sponge, is a species of marine demosponge in the family Mycalidae. Mycale is a large genus and this species is placed in the subgenus Mycale making its full name, Mycale (Mycale) grandis. [1]
Mycale grandis is a bright orange colour both outside and inside. It forms encrusting masses which can reach 1 metre (3 ft 3 in) across and 0.5 metres (1 ft 8 in) thick. The consistency is compressible but firm and fibrous and the sponge can be torn. The surface is smooth and undulating. There are a few large openings called oscula and a greater number of smaller openings called ostia. Water is drawn in through the oscula and expelled through the ostia after having had minute food particles removed by specialised cells. The inside of the sponge is hollow and often contains small brittle stars. [2] [3]
The native range of Mycale grandis is Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia and India. It has spread to Mexico and to Hawaii where it is considered an invasive species. It is part of the fouling community and is found on man made structures such as harbour walls, wharves and pilings and in disturbed habitats such as freshly dredged channels and lagoons.
In Hawaii, Mycale grandis was first reported from Pearl Harbor in 1996. Since then it has moved out of its normal habitats and is also found on reef slopes in Kāne'ohe Bay where it is overgrowing and suppressing native coral species such as Montipora capitata and Porites compressa . A study that took place from 2004 onwards found that it was spreading to further sites. Attempts were made to remove the sponges mechanically but the results were equivocal; regrowth of the sponges occurred and the corals were damaged inadvertently. Further trials included the injection of compressed air into the sponges. This proved more successful. [4]
Kāneʻohe Bay, at 45 km², is the largest sheltered body of water in the main Hawaiian Islands. This reef-dominated embayment constitutes a significant scenic and recreational feature along the northeast coast of the Island of Oʻahu. The largest population center on Kāneʻohe Bay is the town of Kāneʻohe.
The Pearl and Hermes Atoll is part of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, a group of small islands and atolls that form the farthest northwest portion of the Hawaiian island chain. The atoll consists of a variable number of flat and sandy islets, typically between five and seven. More were noted in historical sources but have since been lost to erosion and rising sea levels.
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.
The habitat of deep-water corals, also known as cold-water corals, extends to deeper, darker parts of the oceans than tropical corals, ranging from near the surface to the abyss, beyond 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) where water temperatures may be as cold as 4 °C (39 °F). Deep-water corals belong to the Phylum Cnidaria and are most often stony corals, but also include black and horny corals and soft corals including the Gorgonians. Like tropical corals, they provide habitat to other species, but deep-water corals do not require zooxanthellae to survive.
Cypraea tigris, commonly known as the tiger cowrie, is a species of cowry, a large sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Cypraeidae, the cowries.
The giant barrel sponge is the largest species of sponge found growing on Caribbean coral reefs. It is common at depths greater than 10 metres (33 ft) down to 120 metres (390 ft) and can reach a diameter of 1.8 metres. It is typically brownish-red to brownish-gray in color, with a hard or stony texture. The giant barrel sponge has been called the "redwood of the reef" because of its size and estimated lifespan of hundreds to a thousand or more years. It is perhaps the best-studied species of sponge in the sea; a population on Conch Reef, in the Florida Keys, has been monitored and studied since 1997.
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 epiphet "canariensis" was given to this species because it was first described from Lanzarote in the Canary Islands.
The collector urchin is a species of sea urchin. Collector urchins are found at depths of 2 to 30 metres in the waters of the Indo-Pacific, Hawaii, the Red Sea, and The Bahamas. They can reach 10 to 15 centimetres in size.
The flat leaf sponge is a species of marine demosponge in the family Isodictyidae. This sponge is known from the west coast of South Africa to False Bay. It is endemic to this region.
Ianthella basta, commonly known as elephant ear sponge, is a species of fan-shaped sea sponge in the class Demospongiae. It is also known as the paper sponge or scroll sponge.
Umimayanthus parasiticus, commonly known as the sponge 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 the Gulf of Mexico.
Cliona delitrix is a species of burrowing demosponge belonging to the family Clionaidae. It is found in shallow water in the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico.
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.
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.
Mycale laevis, the orange icing sponge or orange undercoat sponge, is a species of marine demosponge in the family Mycalidae. Mycale is a large genus and this species is placed in the subgenus Mycale making its full name, Mycale (Mycale) laevis. This sponge is found in the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico and usually grows in association with one of a small number of species of coral.
Orange cup coral belongs to a group of corals known as large-polyp stony corals. This non-reef building coral extends beautiful translucent tentacles at night. Tubastraea coccinea is heterotrophic and does not contain zooxanthellae in its tissues as many tropical corals do, allowing it to grow in complete darkness as long as it can capture enough food.
Haliclona cearulea is a species of marine sponge in the family Chalinidae. It is an encrusting tubular sponge that grows anchored on rocky surfaces of coral reefs.
Carijoa riisei, the snowflake coral or branched pipe coral, is a species of soft coral in the family Clavulariidae. It was originally thought to have been native to the tropical western Atlantic Ocean and subsequently spread to other areas of the world such as Hawaii and the greater tropical Pacific, where it is regarded as an invasive species. The notion that it is native to the tropical western Atlantic was perpetuated from the fact that the type specimen, described by Duchassaing & Michelotti in 1860, was collected from the US Virgin Islands. It has subsequently been shown through molecular evidence that it is more likely that the species is in fact native to the Indo-Pacific and subsequently spread to the western tropical Atlantic most likely as a hull fouling species prior to its original description.
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.
Clathria aceratoobtusa is a species of sponge in the family Microcionidae. The genus Clathria is subdivided into a number of subgenera, and it is in the subgenus Microciona. It is native to shallow water habitats in the Indo-Pacific region. The type locality is the Gulf of Thailand.