Kingdom Animalia Order Astrophorida Genus Geodia Higher classification Geodia | Phylum Porifera Family Geodiidae Scientific name Geodia gibberosa Rank Species | |
Similar Sponge, Geodia, Astrophorida, Demosponge, Spheciospongia vesparium | ||
Geodia gibberosa (the white encrusting sponge) is a Caribbean sea sponge. It is known to be eaten by hawksbill turtles.
Characteristics
The Geodia gibberosa is a large, dense sponge. It can be white or pale tan when exposed to very little light, or dark brown in areas with a lot of it. It is usually in the form of a knobby, fist-like mass, often up to 50 cm in diameter. It may also occur as a spherical mass without projections and is also known to form large colonies that resemble rounded calcareous rocks. Its skeleton is a bunch of needle-like spicules radiating outward from the center near the surface, much more randomly dispersed on the inside.
Geodia gibberosa is found in the Bahamas, Florida, Brazil, and west Africa. It's commonly found in shallow waters with hard bottoms, generally in the same area as seagrasses.