''Clathria aceratoobtusa'' is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

sponge Sponges or sea sponges are primarily marine invertebrates of the animal phylum Porifera (; meaning 'pore bearer'), a basal clade and a sister taxon of the diploblasts. They are sessile filter feeders that are bound to the seabed, and a ...

in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Microcionidae Microcionidae is a family (biology), family of marine demosponges. Subdivisions The following genera are recognized within the family Microcionidae: * Subfamily Microcioninae Carter 1875 ** ''Clathria'' Schmidt, 1862 ** ''Echinochalina'' Thiele ...

. The genus ''

Clathria ''Clathria'' is a large genus of demosponges in the family (biology), family Microcionidae. Taxonomy ''Clathria'' was first formally named in Eduard Oscar Schmidt's 1862 ''Die Spongien des adriatischen Meeres'' ("The sponges of the Adriatic Sea ...

'' is subdivided into a number of subgenera, and it is in the subgenus '' Microciona''. It is native to shallow water habitats in the Indo-Pacific region. The type locality is the

Gulf of Thailand The Gulf of Thailand (), historically known as the Gulf of Siam (), is a shallow inlet adjacent to the southwestern South China Sea, bounded between the southwestern shores of the Indochinese Peninsula and the northern half of the Malay Peninsula. ...

Description

''Clathria aceratoobtusa'' is an encrusting sponge forming patches thick. The oscula (exhalent pores) are up to in diameter and appear to have membranous lips. They are either flush with the smooth surface or slightly raised. The inhalant pores are tiny and scattered over the surface, giving a net-like effect. The texture is firm and the living sponge is a bright orange-red colour.

Distribution

''Clathria aceratoobtusa'' occurs in the tropical Indo-Pacific region, its range including Myanmar, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Micronesia and northern Australia. In the 21st century, it has appeared for the first time in

Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park The Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park is a Protected areas of India, protected area of India consisting of 21 small islands (islets) and adjacent coral reefs in the Gulf of Mannar in the Indian Ocean. It lies 1 to 10 km away from the east ...

in southern India, where it is causing concern by its

invasiveness Minimally invasive procedures (also known as minimally invasive surgeries) encompass Surgery, surgical techniques that limit the size of incisions needed, thereby reducing wound healing time, associated pain, and risk of infection. Surgery by d ...

. At this site it occurs at depths down to about .

Ecology

Coral reef A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in group ...

s in tropical seas are

biodiverse Biodiversity is the variability of life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distributed evenly on Earth ...

communities where

coral Corals are colonial marine invertebrates within the subphylum Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact Colony (biology), colonies of many identical individual polyp (zoology), polyps. Coral species include the important Coral ...

s, sponges,

coralline algae Coralline algae are red algae in the order Corallinales. They are characterized by a thallus that is hard because of calcareous deposits contained within the cell walls. The colors of these algae are most typically pink, or some other shade of re ...

seaweed Seaweed, or macroalgae, refers to thousands of species of macroscopic, multicellular, marine algae. The term includes some types of ''Rhodophyta'' (red), '' Phaeophyta'' (brown) and ''Chlorophyta'' (green) macroalgae. Seaweed species such as ...

s and other organisms compete for space and nutrients. ''Clathria aceratoobtusa'' is an encrusting sponge found on reefs growing over the surface of rocks,

bivalve molluscs Bivalvia () or bivalves, in previous centuries referred to as the Lamellibranchiata and Pelecypoda, is a class of aquatic molluscs (marine and freshwater) that have laterally compressed soft bodies enclosed by a calcified exoskeleton consis ...

, shell debris, coral colonies and worm tubes. It grows over the surface of corals at the rate of about per month, smothering them; a thin white line of dead tissue separates the healthy coral tissues from the advancing sponge. In India, where this sponge is a non-native, invasive species, the corals most affected by it are ''

Porites ''Porites'' is a genus of stony coral; they are small polyp stony (SPS) corals. (Also referred to as finger coral or hump coral) They are characterised by a finger-like morphology. Members of this genus have widely spaced calices, a well-de ...

'', ''

Acropora ''Acropora'' is a genus of small polyp stony coral in the phylum Cnidaria. Some of its species are known as table coral, elkhorn coral, and staghorn coral. Over 149 species are described. ''Acropora'' species are some of the major reef corals ...

'', ''

Montipora ''Montipora'' is a genus of Scleractinian corals in the phylum Cnidaria. Members of the genus ''Montipora'' may exhibit many different growth morphologies. With eighty five known species, ''Montipora'' is the second most species rich coral genus ...

'', ''

Favia ''Favia'' is a genus of reef-building stony corals in the family Mussidae. Members of the genus are massive or thickly encrusting colonial corals, either dome-shaped or flat, and a few are foliaceous. There is a great diversity of form even am ...

'' and especially '' Turbinaria'', which appears to be its favoured substrate. The sponge cannot easily be separated from the coral because it penetrates into the tissues. The corals in the Gulf of Mannar have a tendency to

bleach Bleach is the generic name for any chemical product that is used industrially or domestically to remove color from (i.e. to whiten) fabric or fiber (in a process called bleaching) or to disinfect after cleaning. It often refers specifically t ...

and the sponge may be thriving there because of the corals' weakened state. In Yemen, where the sponge has also expanded its range, the coral most affected is ''

Porites lutea ''Porites lutea'' is a species of stony coral in the family Poritidae. It is found growing in very shallow water on reefs in the Indo-Pacific region. It sometimes forms "microatolls" in the intertidal zone and these massive structures have been u ...

''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2277287 Poecilosclerida Sponges of the Indian Ocean Sponges of the Pacific Ocean Animals described in 1887 Taxa named by Henry John Carter