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Verongula reiswigi is a Caribbean vase sponge that inhabits heavily silted lower mesophotic reefs.
Verongula reiswigi is a very large tubular sponge, encountered singly or in groups.
Its walls are very thick, occasionally a single tube is short and thick, barrel-shaped rather than tubular.
The large tubes are wider at the base or in the middle of the body. The color is yellow with green or pinkish tinges when alive.
The outer surface is ribbed, forming a regular pattern that covers the entire surface of the sponge.
A large opening (osculus or pseudo-osculus) at the top of each "vase" (> 5 cm), with a very thin membrane (1 - 2 mm) surrounding the entire rim.
The consistency of the sponge is firm but compressible.
The coloration is a mixture of yellow and green, and the surface is covered with a network of very distinct grooves.
The inside of the tubes is mostly yellow. The combination of size, surface pattern and color makes this species distinctive.
Colors: brown, cinnamon brown, green, purple-purple, yellow
Source:
Díaz MC, Nuttall M, Pomponi SA, Rützler K, Klontz S, Adams C, Hickerson EL, Schmahl GP (2023)
An annotated and illustrated identification guide to common mesophotic reef sponges (Porifera, Demospongiae, Hexactinellida, and Homoscleromorpha) inhabiting Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary and vicinities.
ZooKeys 1161: 1-68. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1161.93754
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Verongula reiswigi is a very large tubular sponge, encountered singly or in groups.
Its walls are very thick, occasionally a single tube is short and thick, barrel-shaped rather than tubular.
The large tubes are wider at the base or in the middle of the body. The color is yellow with green or pinkish tinges when alive.
The outer surface is ribbed, forming a regular pattern that covers the entire surface of the sponge.
A large opening (osculus or pseudo-osculus) at the top of each "vase" (> 5 cm), with a very thin membrane (1 - 2 mm) surrounding the entire rim.
The consistency of the sponge is firm but compressible.
The coloration is a mixture of yellow and green, and the surface is covered with a network of very distinct grooves.
The inside of the tubes is mostly yellow. The combination of size, surface pattern and color makes this species distinctive.
Colors: brown, cinnamon brown, green, purple-purple, yellow
Source:
Díaz MC, Nuttall M, Pomponi SA, Rützler K, Klontz S, Adams C, Hickerson EL, Schmahl GP (2023)
An annotated and illustrated identification guide to common mesophotic reef sponges (Porifera, Demospongiae, Hexactinellida, and Homoscleromorpha) inhabiting Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary and vicinities.
ZooKeys 1161: 1-68. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1161.93754
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
