Cliona californiana
species of sponge
Cliona californiana, the yellow boring sponge, boring sponge or sulphur sponge, is a species of demosponge belonging to the family Clionaidae. It is native to the north-eastern Pacific Ocean and burrows into the shell valves of bivalve molluscs.
Description
The yellow boring sponge inhabits living bivalve molluscs, boring into the shell valves. The only parts of the sponge which are visible from the outside are small yellow patches up to 3 mm (0.1 in) in diameter, sometimes containing small oscula (openings). The sponge spicules are silicaceous (glassy) and are scattered throughout the sponge tissues. They consist entirely of megascleres known as "tylostyles", which are a kind of spicule with a single shaft, with a point on one end and a knob on the other. These characteristic spicules distinguish this sponge from any other sponge species found in the locality.
Distribution and habitat
The yellow boring sponge is native to the north-eastern Pacific Ocean, its range extending from Alaska to Baja California. It is most often found in the subtidal zone but also occurs in the intertidal zone. It is more common in the colder waters in the northern part of its range than it is in the southern part, and it occurs at depths down to about 120 m (400 ft).
“Cliona californiana” enters the record as species of sponge. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Cliona, californiana and species can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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This entry incorporates text from “Cliona californiana” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.