''Corticium candelabrum'' is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...

sponge Sponges, the members of the phylum Porifera (; meaning 'pore bearer'), are a basal animal clade as a sister of the diploblasts. They are multicellular organisms that have bodies full of pores and channels allowing water to circulate throug ...

in the order

Homosclerophorida Homosclerophorida is an order of marine sponges. It is the only order in the monotypic class Homoscleromorpha. The order is composed of two families: Plakinidae and Oscarellidae. Taxonomy Homoscleromorpha is phylogenetically well separated fr ...

. It is native to the eastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea where it inhabits the shallow

sublittoral zone The neritic zone (or sublittoral zone) is the relatively shallow part of the ocean above the drop-off of the continental shelf, approximately in depth. From the point of view of marine biology it forms a relatively stable and well-illuminated ...

. The type locality is the

Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) ...

Description

''Corticium candelabrum'' is sometimes thinly encrusting, or may form small solid cushions some across and high which are connected to the

substrate Substrate may refer to: Physical layers *Substrate (biology), the natural environment in which an organism lives, or the surface or medium on which an organism grows or is attached ** Substrate (locomotion), the surface over which an organism lo ...

by a narrow solid stalk. The surface is sometimes irregularly lobed and is smooth and shiny, and covered by a translucent envelope. The

oscula ''Oscula'' is a genus of shield bugs belonging to the family Plataspidae Plataspidae (Emendation (taxonomy), emended by some later authors as "Plataspididae", in violation of International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, ICZN Code Article 29.5 ...

(exhalant openings) are slightly raised and the pores (inhalant openings) are few in number but quite noticeable. The colour is some shade of pale to mid-brown, sometimes tinged with red, and its consistency varies from firm to cartilaginous.

Distribution and habitat

The species occurs in shallow water in the eastern Atlantic Ocean, including the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Mo ...

, the

Azores ) , motto= ( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace") , anthem=( en, "Anthem of the Azores") , image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg , map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union , map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...

and

Madeira ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthem , image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg , map_alt=Location of Madeira , map_caption=Location of Madeira , subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...

, and the Iberian Peninsula from

Biarritz Biarritz ( , , , ; Basque also ; oc, Biàrritz ) is a city on the Bay of Biscay, on the Atlantic coast in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the French Basque Country in southwestern France. It is located from the border with Sp ...

southwards to Gibraltar. It also occurs in the Western Mediterranean Sea and

. It is found in

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 r ...

communities in shady positions, on vertical walls, under overhangs and in caves, at depths down to about . It is one of the most widely distributed sponges in the Mediterranean.

Ecology

Like other sponges, ''C. candelabrum'' draws water into its body through the small pores, filters out and ingests the nutritional particles, and expels the water through the oscula. It feeds on small particles under three micrometres in diameter, such as

bacteria Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria were am ...

, unicellular

algae Algae ( , ; : alga ) are any of a large and diverse group of photosynthetic, eukaryotic organisms. The name is an informal term for a polyphyletic grouping that includes species from multiple distinct clades. Included organisms range from ...

and organic debris. The sea slug ''

Berthella ocellata ''Berthella ocellata'' is a species of sea slug, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Pleurobranchidae. It is native to the eastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea where it inhabits the shallow sublittoral zone. Description The a ...

'' sometimes feeds on the sponge, rasping off fragments with its radula. This sponge is a

hermaphrodite In reproductive biology, a hermaphrodite () is an organism that has both kinds of reproductive organs and can produce both gametes associated with male and female sexes. Many taxonomic groups of animals (mostly invertebrates) do not have ...

, but the male and female gametes mature at different times, so it does not self-fertilise. The sperm are liberated into the sea and if they are drawn into another sponge of the same species, they are engulfed by cells containing the eggs and fertilisation occurs. The

larvae A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. T ...

are retained within the sponge until they reached their final stage of development after which they are expelled into the

water column A water column is a conceptual column of water from the surface of a sea, river or lake to the bottom sediment.Munson, B.H., Axler, R., Hagley C., Host G., Merrick G., Richards C. (2004).Glossary. ''Water on the Web''. University of Minnesota-D ...

, soon after which they settle on the substrate and

metamorphose Metamorphosis is a biological process by which an animal physically develops including birth or hatching, involving a conspicuous and relatively abrupt change in the animal's body structure through cell growth and differentiation. Some inse ...

into juvenile sponges.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Corticium diamantense Homoscleromorpha Fauna of the Atlantic Ocean Fauna of the Mediterranean Sea Animals described in 1862 Taxa named by Eduard Oscar Schmidt