Saltcorner
By Bob Goemans
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Family Thorectidae

Phyllospongia lamellosa

(Esper, 1799)

Plate Sponge, Fan Sponge

Likely Reef Tank Suitable

Likely Fish-Only Tank Suitable

Range: Indo-West Pacific Ocean

Natural Environment: Inhabits reef flats and slopes.

Aquarium Suitability: Not collected for the home aquarium trade.

Best left in the wild.

Taxonomy:

    Kingdom: Animalia

    Phylum: Porifera

    Class: Demospongiae

    Subclass: Keratosa

    Order: Dictyoceratida

    Family: Thorectidae

    Genus: Phyllospongia

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!

 Phyllospongia lamellosa (Plate Sponge, Fan Sponge)
Photo © Bob Fenner
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