Demospongiae | 
Poecilosclerida | 
Iotrochotidae
			
			
			
				Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range				
				
					Ecology				
				
			
			
				Sessile; brackish; depth range 1 - 91 m (Ref. 108813).  Tropical			
			
			
				
			
			
			
				Indo-Pacific and Western Atlantic:  Caribbean wide.
			
			
			
			
			
				Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
			
			
				Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm Max length : 60.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 415)			
			
			
							
				
				
					
						Sprawling ramose branches, with spiky surface up to 60 cm long; 1 - 5 cm wide.  Black with green patches internally and externally. Oscula 0.1 - 0.3 cm in diameter, on side of branches (Ref. 415).  Smaller specimens grows as lobes, runners, massive or encrusting.  Surface: covered with conules; mostly or entirely smooth for small specimens.  Sometimes greenish-yellow.  Tough consistency; resilient and barely compressible.  Exudate is dark purplish when squeezed.  Oscules are scattered or in a row, slightly raised on small lobes and surrounded by a thin collar (Ref. 85482).					
				
				
						
			
			
			
			
				
					Reef; mangrove; seagrass environments (Ref. 415).  On hard substrates, often hosting the zoanthid Parazoanthus swiftii (Ref. 85482).  Commensal with amphipods (Ref. 82302).				
			
			
			
			
			
				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 Photographic identification guide to some common marine invertebrates of Bocas Del Toro, Panama. Caribbean Journal of Science. 41(3):638-707. (Ref. 415)
			
			
			
			
			
			
			
					
						IUCN Red List Status    
						 (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-1)
					
					
					
				
			
			
			
			
				CITES status   (Ref. 108899)
			
			
				
					Not Evaluated				
			
			
			
			
			
			
				
					Not Evaluated				
			
			
			
			
			
				Threat to humans  
			
			
				
					  Harmless				
			
			
			
			
			
			
			
			
				Human uses  
			
			
							
			
			
				 | FishSource | 			
			
			
			
			
			
Tools
			
			
			
			
				
					More information				
				
					 Trophic EcologyFood items (preys)Diet compositionFood consumptionPredators   Population dynamicsGrowth
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversion
Abundance
  Life cycleReproductionMaturityFecunditySpawningEggsEgg developmentLarvae   PhysiologyOxygen consumption
  Human RelatedStamps, coins, misc.
  
			 
			
			
			
				Internet sources
			
			
			
			
			
				Estimates based on models
			
			
			
									
						Preferred temperature  					
				 (Ref. 
115969): 23.9 - 28.9, mean 27.5 (based on 1216 cells).			
 
			
			
			
			
			
						
							
				
					
						Fishing Vulnerability  					
					
					
						Moderate vulnerability (44 of 100).					
				
						
						
			
									
						Price category  					
					
					Unknown.