Haliclona vansoesti
De Weerdt, De Kluijver & Gomez, 1999
Description:
This sponge forms thick cushions with a loose structure, to about 15 cm in diameter and 2-3 cm thick. Oscula on slightly raised elevations, large, circular to elliptical; 0.8-1 cm in diameter, with raised, transparent rims (H. vansoesti-close up). Consistency crisp, fragile, only slightly compressible.
Color:
The surface is light purple, the choanosome white and semi-transparent.
Habitat:
In reef environments, occupying reef crevices, also growing under coral overhangs, on dead corals and other hard substrata, as well as overgrowing other sponges. Known depth range from 2 to 52 meters. In Curacao reefs, the species shows a marked increase in abundance with increasing depth in sheltered localities.
Distribution:
Curacao, Jamaica, St Vincent and Martinique.