Oscarella lobularis

(Schmidt, 1862)

Flesh Sponge

Range: Northern Atlantic Ocean: Mediterranean.

Natural Environment: Inhabits rubble, rocks, and cave walls in areas where currents are strong.

Aquarium Suitability: Not collected for the home tropical aquarium trade.

Best left in the wild.

Taxonomy:

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Porifera

Class: Homoscleromorpha

Order: Homosclerophorida

Family: Oscarellidae

Genus: Oscarella

FYI: Shown here for identification purpose only.

Color depends upon location of specimen.

Has a temperature range of 50 to 65°F (10 - 18°C).

Sponges posses no nervous, digestive or excretory systems, and feed by filtering suspended bacteria and fine detritus. Strong water movement is vital to almost all, not only for carrying food to these sessile creatures but also to carry waste/unused matter away. In fact, a sponge the size of a baseball can filter about fifty gallons of water per hour!