Azure vase sponge
Callyspongia plicifera
(Lamarck, 1814)
Description:
Vase-shaped or tubaeform with the outer surface characteristically provided with an elaborate system of meandering grooves and/or rounded pits. Terminal vent somewhat constricted, with a transparent, thin collar. Vases mostly solitary, but occasionally there are small side-tubes. Inner walls smooth, somewhat ridged lengthwise, with scattered oscules, 1-5 mm in diameter. Longitudinal fibrofascicles stand out clearly on the inner wall and collar (C. plicifera-young sponge). Vases up to 27 cm in height, 13.5 cm in diameter; vents up to 6.5 cm in diameter. Pits and grooves 0.5-1 cm in depth, 0.5-1.5 cm in diameter. Very spongy in consistency.
Color:
Pink to purple and fluoresces light blue.
Habitat:
Inhabit coral reefs, most commonly grow on walls. Often associated with Sponge brittle stars (Ophiothrix suensonii ).
Distribution:
Occasional in South Florida and Bahamas; common to occasional in the Caribbean.