Xestospongia muta

(Schmidt, 1870)

Giant Barrel Sponge

Range: Western Atlantic Ocean: Florida, Bermuda, Bahamas, Caribbean to Brazil.

Natural Environment: Inhabits open reef flats where the current is fairly brisk.

Aquarium Suitability: Not collected for the home aquarium trade.

Best left in the wild.

Taxonomy:

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Porifera

Class: Demospongiae

Subclass: Heteroscleromorpha

Order: Haplosclerida

Family: Petrosiidae

Genus: Xestospongia

FYI: Shown here for identification only.

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!

These large barrel sponges, up to 6 feet (2 m) are the largest in the Caribbean.