Callyspongia monilata

(Ridley, 1884)

Finger Sponge

Range: Indo-West Pacific Ocean

Natural Environment: Inhabits open areas on reefs and reef slopes.

Aquarium Suitability: Not collected for the home aquarium trade.

Best left in the wild.

Note: For a photo of this sponge, visit the Baensch Marine Atlas Vol. 2, page 96.

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.