Demospongiae |
Haplosclerida |
Chalinidae
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Sessile; brackish; depth range 1 - 10 m (Ref. 108813). Tropical; 25°C - 33°C (Ref. 86836)
Western Central Atlantic: Caribbean.
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm Max length : 0.5 cm OT male/unsexed; (Ref. 415)
Cushion-like: less than 0.5 cm thickness with oscular chimneys; 0.5 - 5 cm long. Thin long proliferations branching off the main body; 0.1 - 0.2 cm wide, several cm long. Highly variable color from pink, to violet, or purple externally and internally. Oscules: 0.05 - 0.1 cm wide (Ref. 415). Surface smooth to the eye, but faintly hispid and distinctly porous. Soft, compressible and limp; easily damaged. Occasionally light brownish. Exudate absent (Ref. 85482).
Maximum thickness: less than 0.5 cm (Ref. 415). Depth range from Belize and Panama (Ref. 86836). Found on reef flats, and on rocks in shallow water. Very common on lagoon bottoms and on mangrove roots (Ref. 85482).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Members of the class Demospongiae are hermaphroditic. Life cycle: The zygote develops into parenchymella larva (free-swimming) before settling down on a substrate where it grows into a young sponge.
Collin, R., M.C. Díaz, J. Norenburg, R.M. Rocha, J.A. Sánchez, M. Schulze, A. Schwartz and A. Valdés. 2005. (Ref. 415)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)
CITES status (Ref. 108899)
Not Evaluated
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
| FishSource |
Tools
Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature
(Ref.
115969): 25.2 - 28.3, mean 27.2 (based on 429 cells).
Vulnerability
Low vulnerability (10 of 100).
Price category
Unknown.