Saltcorner
By Bob Goemans
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Family Ploymastiidae

Polymastia mamillaris

(Muller, 1806)

White Tit-sponge

Not Reef Tank Suitable

Not Suitable for Fish-Only Tank

Range: Northern Atlantic Ocean: European Waters.

Natural Environment: Inhabits deep bedrock and areas adjacent to sediment.

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

Best left in the wild.

Taxonomy:

    Kingdom: Animalia

    Phylum: Porifera

    Class: Demospongiae

    Subclass: Heteroscleromorpha

    Order: Polymastida

    Family: Ploymastiidae

    Genus: Polymastia

FYI: Shown here for identification purpose only.

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!

 Polymastia mamillaris (White Tit-sponge)
Photo © Keith Hiscock
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