A Sponge

Tedania suctoria

Pale yellow massive sponge forming low lobes on bedrock. Raised papillae up to four millimetres in length cover its surface.

Authority

Schmidt (1870)

Classification Details

Phylum: Porifera (sponges); Class: Demospongiae (siliceous sponges).

Habitat

Found growing on bedrock. Present in the Arctic, Newfoundland, Bay of Fundy, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Faroes and the Azores. Known from depths of 10 to 200 metres.

Diet

Sponges feed on small particles in the seawater. 80% of their diet is bacteria-sized particles (<0.5 micrometres in diameter). They suck seawater into a network of canals in their body using a current generated by cells called choanocytes. The choanocytes also capture the food particles.

Reproduction

Hermaphrodite – individuals are both male and female. Sperm is released into the water column, then sucked up by another sponge and used to fertilize its eggs. The sponge then broods the resulting embryos in its body tissue until they develop into free-swimming larvae that are released into the seawater. After a few days in the seawater, the larvae settle and develop into adult sponges.

Fun Facts

Its scientific name comes from the Latin suctor meaning sucking device. Presumably, this refers to its conical papillae.

References

Bowen S, Goodwin C, Kipling D, Picton B (2018) Sea squirts and sponges of Britain and Ireland. Plymouth: Wild Nature Press.

Goodwin C (2017) Field guide to the sponges of the Bay of Fundy. Huntsman Marine Science Centre. Available from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/319433507_Field_Guide_to_Sponges_of_the_Bay_of_Fundy

Van Soest RWM, Boury-Esnault N, Hooper JNA, Rützler K, de Voogd NJ, Alvarez B, Hajdu E, Pisera AB, Manconi R, Schönberg C, Klautau M, Kelly M, Vacelet J, Dohrmann M, Díaz M.-C, Cárdenas P, Carballo JL, Ríos P, Downey R and Morrow CC (2019) World Porifera Database. Tedania (Tedania) suctoria Schmidt, 1870. Accessed at: http://www.marinespecies.org/porifera/porifera.php?p=taxdetails&id=169587 accessed online 20 November 2020.

Van Soest R, Picton B, Morrow C (2000) Tedania suctoria – Sponges of the NE Atlantic. http://species-identification.org/species.php?species_group=sponges&id=445 Accessed online 20 January 2020.