Loggerhead Sponge' | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Porifera |
Class: | Demospongiae |
Order: | Clionaida |
Family: | Clionaidae |
Genus: | Spheciospongia |
Species: | S. vesparium |
Binomial name | |
Spheciospongia vesparium | |
Synonyms [1] | |
List
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Spheciospongia vesparium, commonly known as the loggerhead sponge, [2] is a species of sea sponge belonging to the family Clionaidae. While it is highly toxic to many fish, this sponge is eaten by certain angelfish and is known to form part of the diet of the hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata).
This massive sponge has varying forms in different locations. One common form is barrel-shaped or cake-shaped with a flattened top, but it may also be roughly globular or amorphous. The texture is firm, tough and dense. The surface is broadly undulating and rough, with a mixture of large and small osculi surrounded by groups of fine pores, each 1 to 2 mm (0.04 to 0.08 in) in diameter. The color of the sponge both inside and out is purplish, gray or brownish-black, and the surface is often partly obscured by sediment or by algae growing on it. [2] [3]
This sponge is native to the Caribbean Sea and around the coasts of the Bahamas and Florida. It occurs on patch reefs and in lagoons; when growing on soft sediment it often has a wider and deeper base than when growing on rock. [2] Its depth range is 5 to 15 m (16 to 49 ft). [3]
Although it is toxic to many vertebrates, some fish have been observed to feed on this sponge, a fact confirmed by fragments of the sponge being found in their guts; these fish include the queen angelfish (Holacanthus ciliaris), the rock beauty (Holacanthus tricolor) and the French angelfish (Pomacanthus paru). Other predators feeding on the sponge include the polychaete worm Branchiosyllis oculata , and the red cushion sea star (Oreaster reticulatus). [4] It is also preyed upon by the hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata). [5]
The tunnels and cavities inside the sponge are home to a wide array of invertebrates. [3] Being a suspension feeder, this sponge has been found to be helpful in controlling harmful blooms of cyanobacteria; sites in Florida Bay with an abundance of loggerhead sponges were found to have few or no blooms whereas similar sites with few sponges had long-lasting, dense blooms. [6]
Cheloniidae is a family of typically large marine turtles that are characterised by their common traits such as, having a flat streamlined wide and rounded shell and almost paddle-like flippers for their forelimbs. They are the only sea turtles to have stronger front limbs than back limbs. The six species that make up this family are: the green sea turtle, loggerhead sea turtle, olive ridley sea turtle, hawksbill sea turtle, flatback sea turtle and the Kemp's ridley sea turtle.
Geodia gibberosa, commonly known as the white encrusting sponge, is a species of sea sponge found in the Caribbean. It is eaten by hawksbill turtles. It was first described by Lamarck in 1815.
A spongivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating animals of the phylum Porifera, commonly called sea sponges, for the main component of its diet. As a result of their diet, spongivore animals like the hawksbill turtle have developed sharp, narrow bird-like beak that allows them to reach within crevices on the reef to obtain sponges.
Aaptos aaptos is a species of sea sponge belonging to the family Suberitidae, first described in 1864 by.
Chondrilla nucula, sometimes called the Caribbean chicken-liver sponge, is a species of sea sponge belonging to the family Chondrillidae.
Tethya actinia is a sea sponge belonging to the family Tethyidae.
Suberites domuncula is a species of sea sponge belonging to the family Suberitidae.
Ecionemia is a genus of sea sponges belonging to the family Ancorinidae.
Placospongia is a genus of sea sponges belonging to the family Placospongiidae.
Ancorina is a genus of sea sponges belonging to the family Ancorinidae. It is the type genus of its family.
The queen angelfish, also known as the blue angelfish, golden angelfish, or yellow angelfish, is a species of marine angelfish found in the western Atlantic Ocean. It is a benthic warm-water species that lives in coral reefs. It is recognized by its blue and yellow coloration and a distinctive spot or "crown" on its forehead. This crown distinguishes it from the closely related and similar-looking Bermuda blue angelfish, with which it overlaps in range and can interbreed.
The hawksbill sea turtle is a critically endangered sea turtle belonging to the family Cheloniidae. It is the only extant species in the genus Eretmochelys. The species has a global distribution that is largely limited to tropical and subtropical marine and estuary ecosystems.
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Washington Slagbaai National Park is a national park and ecological reserve on the northwestern part of the island of Bonaire in the Caribbean Netherlands. The 5,643 hectares (21.79 sq mi) park covering approximately a fifth of the island of Bonaire is managed by STINAPA Bonaire, a non-profit foundation, on behalf of the Bonaire government. Established in 1969, Washington Slagbaai National Park was the first nature reserve to be established in the former Netherlands Antilles.
Lighthouse Reef is an atoll in the Caribbean Sea, the easternmost part of the Belize Barrier Reef and one of its three atolls, the other two being Turneffe Atoll and Glover's Reef. Lighthouse Reef is located about 80 kilometres (50 mi) southeast of Belize City. The atoll is of oblong shape, approximately 35 kilometres (22 mi) long from north to south, and about 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) wide. It forms a shallow sandy lagoon with an area of 120 square kilometres (46 sq mi) and a depth between 2 and 6 metres deep.
The Amazon–Orinoco–Southern Caribbean mangroves (NT1401) is an ecoregion along the coasts of Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana and Brazil.
The East African coral coast is a marine ecoregion along the eastern coast of Africa. It extends along the coasts of Kenya, Tanzania, and northern Mozambique, from Lamu in Kenya to Angoche in Mozambique. It adjoins the Northern Monsoon Current Coast ecoregion to the north, and the Bight of Sofala/Swamp Coast ecoregion to the south.
The Belizean reef mangroves ecoregion covers the mangrove habitats along the islands and cayes of the Belize Barrier Reef. This ecoregion is distinct from the mainland Belizean Coast mangroves ecoregion, and may be considered a sub-unit of the overall Mesoamerican Gulf-Caribbean mangroves ecoregion.
The Bocas del Toro-San Bastimentos Island-San Blas mangroves ecoregion covers the mangrove habitats along the Caribbean Sea coast of Costa Rica and across the northern coast of Panama. An offshore reef and barrier islands of the region help protect the mangroves from destructive waves. The ecoregion has a high number of endangered and threatened species, including the loggerhead sea turtle, green sea turtle, and hawk's bill sea turtle.