The crumb-of-bread sponge (''Hymeniacidon perlevis'') 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 ...
of
sea 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
class Demospongiae.
Description
The crumb-or-bread sponge is a thickly encrusting sponge with a glistening bumpy surface. Specimens found intertidally are bright yellow. Specimens from deeper water are darker. 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 ...
are scattered across the surface of the sponge and may be flush with the sponge surface or on raised mounds.
[Branch, G.M., Branch, M.L, Griffiths, C.L. and Beckley, L.E (2005): ''Two Oceans: a guide to the marine life of southern Africa'' ] The form of the sponge is variable, depending on its environment. In sheltered areas, branched structures grow from the base. In areas with wave action the surface is convoluted or flat.
[Jones, Georgina. ''A field guide to the marine animals of the Cape Peninsula.'' SURG, Cape Town, 2008. ]
Distribution
The crumb-of-bread sponge is found in the northern Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean sea and the Pacific Ocean, as well as around the southern African coast from the northern Cape to Port St Johns. It lives from the intertidal zone in tide pools to a maximum depth of about 15 meters (about 50 feet).
References
Halichondrida
Fauna of the Atlantic Ocean
Fauna of the Indian Ocean
Fauna of the Mediterranean Sea
Fauna of the Pacific Ocean
Animals described in 1818
Taxa named by George Montagu (naturalist)
{{demosponge-stub