Black stink sponge

black stink sponge
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Porifera
Class: Demospongiae
Order: Dictyoceratida
Family: Irciniidae
Genus: Ircinia
Species: I. arbuscula
Binomial name
Ircinia arbuscula
(Hyatt, 1877)

The black stink sponge, Ircinia arbuscula, is a species of marine demosponge in the family Irciniidae.[1] This sponge is known around the Australian coast and around South Africa from the Cape Peninsula to Cape Agulhas.[2]

Description

The black stink sponge grows in crusts of 1–2 cm thick and 10–20 cm across. It is a black encrusting sponge which forms a mat on rocks. Its surface is textured, and the sponge is firm and slippery to touch. Its oscula are inconspicuous. When collected, the smell is distinctive.[2][3]

Habitat

This sponge lives on rocky reefs subtidally down to 180m.

References

  1. ↑ http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=344756 accessed 25 November 2010
  2. 1 2 Samaai, T. and Gibbons, M.J. 2005. Demospongiae taxonomy and biodiversity of the Benguela region on the west coast of South Africa. Afr. Nat. Hist. 1(1):1-96
  3. ↑ Jones, Georgina. A field guide to the marine animals of the Cape Peninsula. SURG, Cape Town, 2008. ISBN 978-0-620-41639-9


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