Black stink sponge
Appearance
(Redirected from Ircinia arbuscula)
black stink sponge | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Porifera |
Class: | Demospongiae |
Order: | Dictyoceratida |
Family: | Irciniidae |
Genus: | Ircinia |
Species: | I. arbuscula
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Binomial name | |
Ircinia arbuscula (Hyatt, 1877)
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Synonyms | |
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The black stink sponge (Ircinia arbuscula), is a species of sea sponge 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
[edit]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
[edit]This sponge lives on rocky reefs subtidally down to 180m.
References
[edit]Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ircinia arbuscula.
- ^ "WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Ircinia arbuscula (Hyatt, 1877)". www.marinespecies.org. Retrieved 25 November 2010.
- ^ a b 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
- ^ Jones, Georgina. A field guide to the marine animals of the Cape Peninsula. SURG, Cape Town, 2008. ISBN 978-0-620-41639-9