Smenospongia aurea

(Hyatt, 1875)

Brown Rubber Sponge

Range: Western Atlantic Ocean: Caribbean, Bahamas, Cuba, Haiti, and Bonaire.

Natural Environment: Inhabits rubble areas near mangroves.

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 115.

Taxonomy:

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Porifera

Class: Demospongiae

Subclass: Keratosa

Order: Dictyoceratida

Family: Thorectidae

Genus: Smenospongia

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!