Ciocalypta penicillus is a sponge with a round cushion-shaped base attached to rocks, of 10 to 20 cm in diameter. Many conical outgrowths between 5 to 10 cm in height and 5 to 7 mm in diameter at their base emerge from the whole surface of the basal cushion. The sponge base is generally covered with sand, only the erected brushes are visible. They are pale yellow and translucent so that the central axis can be seen through.
Ciocalypta penicillus lives on rocks hidden in sandy or maerl seabeds, in the North-Western Atlantic, the English Channel and the Mediterranean Sea.
Source : World Register of Marine Species
Dernière mise à jour 24-11-2022
Animalia (Kingdom)
Porifera (Phylum)
Demospongiae (Class)
Heteroscleromorpha (Subclass)
Suberitida (Order)
Halichondriidae (Family)
Ciocalypta (Genus)
Ciocalypta penicillus (Species)
Maerl : Calcareous algae forming small branches of 3 to 5 cm. Pink when alive, white when dead, these algae form large seabeds. Maerl is collected and used in pharmacology and manure.
Text : Wilfried Bay-Nouailhat © 2004 - 2024.
Photos : ©
Wilfried Bay-Nouailhat. Published with his kind permission.
Websites and reference works : Consult bibliography
Image satellite: © Esri, DigitalGlobe, GeoEye, Earthstar Geographics, CNES/Airbus DS, USDA, USGS, AeroGRID, IGN, and the GIS User Community.
Données de distribution : Ciocalypta penicillus Bowerbank, 1862 in GBIF Secretariat (2019). GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei accessed via GBIF.org on 2024-12-22.
Source : World Register of Marine Species
Dernière mise à jour 24-11-2022
Animalia (Kingdom)
Porifera (Phylum)
Demospongiae (Class)
Heteroscleromorpha (Subclass)
Suberitida (Order)
Halichondriidae (Family)
Ciocalypta (Genus)
Ciocalypta penicillus (Species)
Maerl : Calcareous algae forming small branches of 3 to 5 cm. Pink when alive, white when dead, these algae form large seabeds. Maerl is collected and used in pharmacology and manure.
Text : Wilfried Bay-Nouailhat © 2004 - 2024.
Photos : ©
Wilfried Bay-Nouailhat. Published with his kind permission.
Websites and reference works : Consult bibliography
Bay-Nouailhat W., april 2004, Description of Ciocalypta penicillus, [On line] https://european-marine-life.org/02/ciocalypta-penicillus.php, consulted on 2024 December 22.
Author
Diver - Naturalist
Underwater Photographer
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