Demospongiae |
Verongiida |
Aplysinidae
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Sessile; brackish; depth range 3 - 52 m (Ref. 415). Tropical
Western Atlantic.
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Massive to lobate. Surface has knob-shaped conules; 0.3 - 0.4 cm high; up to 1 cm apart. Dense like cheese. Oscules with membranes; 1 - 2 cm wide; on top of lobes (Ref. 415). External is usually bicolored but highly variable at purple, greenish, red-brown, orange or bright yellow. Internal color is bright lemon yellow. Exudate is dark; turns bluish after air exposure for about an hour.
Maximum depth reported taken from Ref. 128739. Common in reefs (Ref. 85482) and sea grass (Ref. 415). Also found in mangroves (Ref. 86836). Hosts alpheid shrimps in its canals (Ref. 86626). Inhabits coral communities. Found in shallow coral reefs and mesophotic depths (Ref. 128739).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Members of the class Demospongiae are hermaphroditic. Life cycle: The zygote develops into parenchymella larva (free-swimming) before settling down on a substrate where it grows into a young sponge.
Collin, R., M.C. Díaz, J. Norenburg, R.M. Rocha, J.A. Sánchez, M. Schulze, A. Schwartz and A. Valdés 2005 Photographic identification guide to some common marine invertebrates of Bocas Del Toro, Panama. Caribbean Journal of Science. 41(3):638-707. (Ref. 415)
IUCN Red List Status
(Ref. 130435: Version 2025-1)
CITES status (Ref. 108899)
Not Evaluated
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Human uses
| FishSource |
Tools
More information
Trophic EcologyFood items (preys)
Diet composition
Food consumption
Predators
Population dynamicsGrowth
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversion
Abundance
Life cycleReproductionMaturityFecunditySpawningEggsEgg developmentLarvae PhysiologyOxygen consumption
Human RelatedStamps, coins, misc.
Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature
(Ref.
115969): 23.5 - 28, mean 26.5 (based on 290 cells).
Price category
Unknown.
