Tree sponge
species of sponge
The tree sponge (Echinoclathria dichotoma) is a species of demosponge. It is known from the west coast of South Africa to Cape Agulhas. It is endemic to this region.
Description
The tree sponge may grow to 150 mm (5.9 in) in height. It is a bright red to dirty orange sponge which grows upright and branches like a tree. The surface texture is smooth and the branch tips are rounded. Its oscula are small (<1 mm (0.039 in) and inconspicuous. The surface may be covered in a slimy mucus.
Distribution and habitat
This sponge is found on the south and west coasts of South Africa where it lives on rocky reefs subtidally to 69 m (226 ft).
Ecology
This sponge is often colonised by a white zoanthid, Parazoanthus sp.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Tree sponge” as species of sponge. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
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The subject matters to the science & nature register because the source frames it as species of sponge. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Datasets, specimens, observations and peer-reviewed methods provide the appropriate test for the technical claims summarized here. The source revision retrieved here is dated Dec 15, 2023. The linked authority identifier is Q3463328.
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This entry incorporates text from “Tree sponge” 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.