Anne Frijsinger & Mat Vestjens, Holland
Info
Corticium candelabrum is a marine sponge species belonging to the order Homosclerophorida. It is native to the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean, where it lives in the shallow sublittoral zone. The type locality is the Adriatic Sea.
Description
Corticium candelabrum sometimes forms thin crusts or small solid cushions with a diameter of about 10 to 15 cm and a height of 2 to 3 cm, which are connected to the substrate by a narrow, solid stalk. The surface is sometimes irregularly lobed, smooth and shiny, and covered with a transparent sheath. The oscula (exhalation openings) are slightly raised and the pores (inhalation openings) are few but clearly visible. The color is light to medium brown, sometimes with a reddish tinge, and the consistency varies from firm to cartilaginous.
Distribution and habitat
The species occurs in shallow waters of the eastern Atlantic, including the Canary Islands, the Azores, and Madeira, as well as the Iberian Peninsula from Biarritz southward to Gibraltar. It also occurs in the western Mediterranean and the Adriatic Sea. It is found in coral algae communities in shady locations, on vertical walls, under overhangs, and in caves at depths of up to about 20 meters (70 feet).
Corticium candelabrum is one of the most widespread marine sponges in the Mediterranean.
Ecology
Like other marine sponges, Corticium candelabrum sucks water through small pores in its body, filters out the nutrient particles, and excretes the water through the oscula.
Corticium candelabrum feeds on small particles less than three micrometers in diameter, such as bacteria, single-celled algae, and organic waste.
The sea snail Berthella ocellata sometimes feeds on the sponge, scraping off fragments with its radula.
This marine sponge is hermaphroditic, but the male and female gametes mature at different times, so self-fertilization does not occur.
The sperm is released into the sea and, when taken up by another sponge of the same species, is enclosed by cells...
Corticium candelabrum is a thinly encrusted to cushion-shaped sponge, sometimes lobed, with a light brown to brown and sometimes reddish color.
Its consistency is firm to cartilaginous, and its skeleton is dominated by clathrops of various species.
This species is quite
common in shallow coral communities (coraline substrates).
Similar species:
Pseudocorticium jarrei Boury-Esnault, Muricy, Gallissian & Vacelet, 1995:
Very similar to Corticium candelabrum in morphology, but differs in its lighter color and lack of spicules* and occurs deeper in caves, in darker areas.
Etymology:
The genus name “Corticium” comes from the Latin “cortex,” meaning shell or bark.
The species name “candelabrum” is a Latin word meaning candelabra.
Some very intricately shaped spicules are reminiscent of this object.
Description
Corticium candelabrum sometimes forms thin crusts or small solid cushions with a diameter of about 10 to 15 cm and a height of 2 to 3 cm, which are connected to the substrate by a narrow, solid stalk. The surface is sometimes irregularly lobed, smooth and shiny, and covered with a transparent sheath. The oscula (exhalation openings) are slightly raised and the pores (inhalation openings) are few but clearly visible. The color is light to medium brown, sometimes with a reddish tinge, and the consistency varies from firm to cartilaginous.
Distribution and habitat
The species occurs in shallow waters of the eastern Atlantic, including the Canary Islands, the Azores, and Madeira, as well as the Iberian Peninsula from Biarritz southward to Gibraltar. It also occurs in the western Mediterranean and the Adriatic Sea. It is found in coral algae communities in shady locations, on vertical walls, under overhangs, and in caves at depths of up to about 20 meters (70 feet).
Corticium candelabrum is one of the most widespread marine sponges in the Mediterranean.
Ecology
Like other marine sponges, Corticium candelabrum sucks water through small pores in its body, filters out the nutrient particles, and excretes the water through the oscula.
Corticium candelabrum feeds on small particles less than three micrometers in diameter, such as bacteria, single-celled algae, and organic waste.
The sea snail Berthella ocellata sometimes feeds on the sponge, scraping off fragments with its radula.
This marine sponge is hermaphroditic, but the male and female gametes mature at different times, so self-fertilization does not occur.
The sperm is released into the sea and, when taken up by another sponge of the same species, is enclosed by cells...
Corticium candelabrum is a thinly encrusted to cushion-shaped sponge, sometimes lobed, with a light brown to brown and sometimes reddish color.
Its consistency is firm to cartilaginous, and its skeleton is dominated by clathrops of various species.
This species is quite
common in shallow coral communities (coraline substrates).
Similar species:
Pseudocorticium jarrei Boury-Esnault, Muricy, Gallissian & Vacelet, 1995:
Very similar to Corticium candelabrum in morphology, but differs in its lighter color and lack of spicules* and occurs deeper in caves, in darker areas.
Etymology:
The genus name “Corticium” comes from the Latin “cortex,” meaning shell or bark.
The species name “candelabrum” is a Latin word meaning candelabra.
Some very intricately shaped spicules are reminiscent of this object.
