Axinella cannabina

(Esper, 1864)

Tree Sponge, Antler Sponge

Range: Northern Atlantic Ocean: Mediterranean.

Natural Environment: Inhabits coastal rocky shelf 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: Demospongiae

Subclass: Heteroscleromorpha

Order: Axinellida

Family: Axinellidae

Genus: Axinella

FYI: Shown here for identification only.

Has a temperature range of 50 - 68ºF (10 - 20ºC).

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!

Often lives in association with yellow encrusting anemone Parazoanthus axinellae.