Halichondria cartilaginea

(Esper, 1794)

Disc/Plate Sponge

Range: Indo-West Pacific Ocean

Natural Environment: Inhabits reef slope areas where current is swift.

Aquarium Suitability: Not collected for the home aquarium trade.

Best left in the wild.

Note: For a photo of this sponge, visit the Indo-Pacific Coral Reef Field Guide, page 35.

Taxonomy:

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Porifera

Class: Demospongiae

Subclass: Heteroscleromorpha

Order: Suberitida

Family: Halichondriidae

Genus: Halichondria

FYI: 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!