Porifera · sponges

Giant barrel sponge

Xestospongia muta

Petrosiidae · barrel spongesIUCN: Not evaluated
Giant barrel sponge
Photo: Twilight Zone Expedition Team 2007, NOAA-OE . · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons · resized

A massive, vase-shaped sponge of Caribbean reefs, often called the redwood of the reef.

Fun factSome individuals are estimated to be more than 2,000 years old.

Waters
Tropical Atlantic & Caribbean
Depth zone
Coral reefs
Diet
Bacteria & organic particles (filter feeder)
Size
Up to 2 m across

Classification

Porifera › Demospongiae › Petrosiidae

  1. Kingdom Animalia animals
    • Many-celled organisms that eat other living things for energy (heterotrophs)
    • Cells have no cell walls
    • Most can move at some stage of life
  2. Phylum Porifera sponges
    • Body is a porous sac with no true tissues or organs
    • Special collar cells (choanocytes) pump water through pores to filter food
    • Skeleton made of tiny spikes (spicules) and/or spongy fibers
  3. Class Demospongiae demosponges
    • The largest group of sponges, about 80% of all species
    • Skeleton of silica spikes, flexible protein fibers (spongin), or both
    • Includes the soft bath sponges people once harvested
  4. Family Petrosiidae barrel sponges
    • Large, often massive or vase-shaped sponges with a stony, brittle feel
    • Dense skeleton of silica spikes in a tight mesh
  5. Genus Xestospongia
    • Species in the same genus are very close relatives and often look alike.
  6. Species Xestospongia muta Giant barrel sponge

Closest relatives in the guide