Giant Barrel Sponge
Xestospongia muta (Schmidt, 1870)
Names
| English | Giant Barrel Sponge |
|---|---|
| Dutch | — |
| Spanish | Esponja gigante de barril |
| Chinese | — |
| Scientific name | Xestospongia muta (Schmidt, 1870) |
About this species
The giant barrel sponge (Xestospongia muta) is the largest species of sponge found growing on Caribbean coral reefs. It is common at depths greater than 10 metres (33 ft) down to 120 metres (390 ft) and can reach a diameter of 1.8 metres (6 feet). It is typically brownish-red to brownish-gray in color, with a hard or stony texture.
The giant barrel sponge has been called the "redwood of the reef" because of its large size and its long lifespan, which can be more than 2,000 years. It is, perhaps, the best-studied species of sponge in the sea; a population on Conch Reef, in the Florida Keys, has been monitored and studied since 1997.
Read more on Wikipedia · Text: Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Xestospongia muta is een sponssoort in de taxonomische indeling van de gewone sponzen (Demospongiae). Het lichaam van de spons bestaat uit kiezelnaalden en sponginevezels, en is in staat om veel water op te nemen.
De spons behoort tot het geslacht Xestospongia en behoort tot de familie Petrosiidae. De wetenschappelijke naam van de soort werd voor het eerst geldig gepubliceerd in 1870 door Schmidt.
Lees verder op Wikipedia · Tekst: Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Classification
| Kingdom | Animalia |
|---|---|
| Phylum | Porifera |
| Class | Demospongiae |
| Order | Haplosclerida |
| Family | Petrosiidae |
| Genus | Xestospongia |
