WHATSTHATFISH
Sponges

Blackball Sponge

Ircinia strobilina

Also known as: Ball Sponge, Cake Garlic Sponge, Cake Sponge, Marine Sponge, Siliceous Sponge

Adult
@fishx6 · Lighthouse Bommie - Coral Sea, Australia · July 20091 / 2
01

Overview

Found over hard bottoms, in seagrass beds, around mangroves, and shallow reefs. Varies in colour, grey or white with black inside.

Sponges come in a range of sizes from minuscule encrusting species under rocks to massive sponges which can be up to one and half metres high.
They are able to filter many litres of sea water every few seconds.
Sponges can exude highly toxic chemicals and so have very few predators apart from nudibranchs, sea stars, sea urchins and umbrella shell.
Their colour can vary if growing in the light or when growing in the shade.

02

How to identify

COLOURS
Body shape
barrelspikes

Tap any trait to see other fish that share it.

03

Habitat & where to find it

  • Range · Western Atlantic, Caribbean
  • Country only · 2
LIVES IN

Found over hard bottoms, in seagrass beds, around mangroves, and shallow reefs.

04

Adult photos 2

05

Discussion 1

Comments are checked by a moderator before they appear.

1 comment

  • tharen· 1 Mar 2015

    This Website gave me a ton of information on the Black BAll Sponge! Thanks Sooo Much!

ALL STAGES
FOR THE MARINE-BIOLOGY CURIOUS

Deep dive

Taxonomy

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumPorifera
  3. classDemospongiae
  4. orderDictyoceratida
  5. familyIrciniidae
  6. genusIrcinia
  7. speciesIrcinia strobilina (Lamarck, 1816)

SourcesWoRMSWikipedia

06

More in the family

Dictyoceratida