Callyspongia muricina

(Lamarck, 1814)

Giant Tube Sponge

Range: Western Pacific Ocean: Australia.

Natural Environment: Inhabits reef flats 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: Haplosclerida

Family: Callyspongiidae

Genus: Callyspongia

FYI: Feeds by drawing water in and through its pores and filtering out bacteria and organic particles, then expelling the filtered water out through the osculi.