description of Tethya aurantium - Orange golfball sponge

Description

Tethya aurantium is a ball-shaped sponge from 2 to 10 cm in diameter. It is yellow or pale orange. It is attached to rocks by means of its base and some extensions resembling roots. It has a single large oscule, generally at the top. Its surface is granulous with sometimes small round and spiny outgrowths. Its consistency is firm.

Distribution

Tethya aurantium is recorded in the Atlantic Ocean, the English Channel, the North Sea and the Mediterrannean Sea.

Classification

Source : World Register of Marine Species
Dernière mise à jour 24-11-2022

Animalia (Kingdom)
Porifera (Phylum)
Demospongiae (Class)
Heteroscleromorpha (Subclass)
Tethyida (Order)
Tethyidae (Family)
Tethya (Genus)
Tethya aurantium (Species)

Authors

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 : Tethya aurantium (Pallas, 1766) in GBIF Secretariat (2019). GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei accessed via GBIF.org on 2024-12-22.

Classification

Source : World Register of Marine Species

Dernière mise à jour 24-11-2022

Animalia (Kingdom)
Porifera (Phylum)
Demospongiae (Class)
Heteroscleromorpha (Subclass)
Tethyida (Order)
Tethyidae (Family)
Tethya (Genus)
Tethya aurantium (Species)

Authors

Photos : © Wilfried Bay-Nouailhat. Published with his kind permission.
Websites and reference works : Consult bibliography

How to cite this page

Bay-Nouailhat W., october 2011, Description of Tethya aurantium, [On line] https://european-marine-life.org/02/tethya-aurantium.php, consulted on 2024 December 22.

Author

Wilfried Bay-Nouailhat

Diver - Naturalist
Underwater Photographer