''Mycale laevis'', the orange icing sponge or orange undercoat sponge, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of 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 the appropriate s ...

of marine

demosponge Demosponges (Demospongiae) are the most diverse class in the phylum Porifera. They include 76.2% of all species of sponges with nearly 8,800 species worldwide (World Porifera Database). They are sponges with a soft body that covers a har ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Mycalidae Mycalidae is a Family (biology), family of marine demosponges. Genera According to the World Register of Marine Species, there are only two Genus, genera in this family. Previously there were about 26, but most of these have been reallocated as ...

. ''Mycale'' is a large genus and this species is placed in the subgenus ''Mycale'' making its full name, ''Mycale (Mycale) laevis''. This sponge is found in the

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico ...

and the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...

and usually grows in association with one of a small number of species of

coral Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and sec ...

Description

''Mycale laevis'' is yellow, mid to dark orange or yellowish-green. It has a small number of oscules, each up to in diameter. They are elevated with a thick white or translucent collar. This sponge is easily torn and its consistency is compressible but firm.

Ecology

''Mycale laevis'' usually grows on the undersurface of certain species of corals that form flat plates. These include ''

Montastraea annularis ''Orbicella annularis'', commonly known as the boulder star coral, is a species of coral that lives in the western Atlantic Ocean and is the most thoroughly studied and most abundant species of reef-building coral in the Caribbean to date. It a ...

'', ''

Montastraea cavernosa ''Montastraea'' is a genus of colonial stony coral found in the Caribbean seas. It is the only genus in the monotypic family Montastraeidae and contains a single species, ''Montastraea cavernosa'', known as great star coral. It forms into massiv ...

'', ''

Porites astreoides ''Porites astreoides'', commonly known as mustard hill coral or yellow porites, is a colonial species of stony coral in the family Poritidae. It is a common species in the Caribbean Sea and western tropical Atlantic Ocean in North, Central, and ...

'', '' Agaricia agaricites'' and '' Mycetophilia lamarckiana''. The sponge seems able to cause the rim of the coral to fold and become lobed and inserts its oscules in the gaps between the lobes. Often the sponge is found covering the under side of an entire groups of

colonial Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 au ...

corals. It is unclear what is the precise relationship between the coral and the sponge but the latter may benefit from being held clear of the substrate while the coral may avoid having its undersurface mined by a

parasitic Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson has c ...

boring sponge Boring sponge may refer to several different species of sponges: * '' Cliona californiana'', the yellow boring sponge or sulphur sponge * ''Cliona celata ''Cliona celata'', occasionally called the boring sponge, is a species of demosponge belon ...

. Observation over several years has shown that this is a stable relationship. In the absence of suitable coral species, ''Mycale laevis'' is able to live directly on rocks and under boulders as an encrusting or massive sponge and also on calcareous worm tubes.

Distribution

''Mycale laevis'' is found on reefs and in lagoons in the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, the West Indies, the Bahamas and Florida at depths between but is more common at depths greater than .

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2617097 Poecilosclerida Sponges described in 1882