Monanchora arbuscula

(Duchassaing & Michelotti, 1864)

Red Lumpy Encrusting Sponge

Range: Western Atlantic Ocean: Florida, Caribbean, Bahamas, and Bonaire.

Natural Environment: Inhabits reef flats at various depths and encrusts reef rubble.

Aquarium Suitability: May arrive attached to lower sides of live rock/rubble. Removed when seen.

Furthermore, keep in mind, if a hitchhiker sponge arrives attached to a coral specimen or live rock, it is reasonable to assume that at one time it was subjected to 'air' when the specimen or rock was harvested/shipped and/or transferred to various storage areas, thereby endangering the ongoing lifespan of the hitchhiker sponge, as it should never to subjected to air! Therefore the ongoing culture of hitchhiker sponges is dismal at best!

Best left in the wild.

Note: For another photo of this sponge, visit the Baensch Marine Atlas Vol. 2, page 61.

Taxonomy:

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Porifera

Class: Demospongiae

Subclass: Heteroscleromorpha

Order: Poecilosclida

Family: Crambeidae

Genus: Monanchora

FYI: Shown here for identification only.