Geodia gibberosa
| Geodia gibberosa | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Porifera |
| Class: | Demospongiae |
| Order: | Astrophorida |
| Family: | Geodiidae |
| Genus: | Geodia |
| Species: | G. gibberosa |
| Binomial name | |
| Geodia gibberosa Lamarck, 1815 | |
Geodia gibberosa (the white encrusting sponge)[1] is a Caribbean sea sponge. It is known to be eaten by hawksbill turtles.[2]
Characteristics
The 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.[3] 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.[4] Its skeleton is a bunch of needle-like spicules radiating outward from the center near the surface, much more randomly dispersed on the inside.[3]
Geodia gibberosa is found in the Bahamas, Florida, Brazil, and west Africa.[5][3] It's commonly found in shallow waters with hard bottoms, generally in the same area as seagrasses.[3]
Bibliography
- "Geodia gibberosa". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 15 February 2007.
References
- ↑ http://www.bio.georgiasouthern.edu/GR-inverts/grlist.html?spp=Geodiagibberosa&filaindex=9
- ↑ "Species Booklet: Hawksbill sea turtle". Virginia Fish and Wildlife Information Service. Virginia Department of Game & Inland Fisheries. Retrieved 2007-02-06.
- 1 2 3 4 "Geodia gibberosa Lamarck, 1815 Astrophorida, Geodiidae". Retrieved February 15, 2014.
- ↑ http://www.gsmfc.org/seamap/picture_guide/Other/geodia%20gibberosa.pdf
- ↑ http://www.spongeguide.org/speciesinfo.php?species=176