''Aplysina insularis'', commonly known as the yellow-green candle sponge or yellow candle sponge, is a
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
of
sea sponge
Sponges, the members of the phylum Porifera (; meaning 'pore bearer'), are a basal animal clade as a sister of the diploblasts. They are multicellular organisms that have bodies full of pores and channels allowing water to circulate through th ...
found on reefs in the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico.
Description
''Aplysina insularis'' is a large sponge and consists of one or more cylindrical tubes united at the base. Each one narrows at the apex into a large
osculum
The osculum (plural "oscula") is an excretory structure in the living sponge, a large opening to the outside through which the current of water exits after passing through the spongocoel. Wastes diffuse into the water and the water is pumped th ...
and this may be surrounded by small, finger-like projections. Slender tendrils and larger rope-like projections may also occur, and in areas with high levels of sedimentation, these may exceed the tubes in size. This sponge can grow to a length of with a tube diameter of and the texture is soft yet tough. The outer surface is either smooth or covered with fine conical projections. There are no silicaceous
spicule
Spicules are any of various small needle-like anatomical structures occurring in organisms
Spicule may also refer to:
*Spicule (sponge), small skeletal elements of sea sponges
*Spicule (nematode), reproductive structures found in male nematodes ( ...
s in the wall but it is strengthened with a network of fibres forming a hexagonal or circular mesh pattern.
The colour is yellowish brown and in deeper water changes to an intense greenish yellow because the surface layers of the sponge
fluoresce
Fluorescence is the emission of light by a substance that has absorbed light or other electromagnetic radiation. It is a form of luminescence. In most cases, the emitted light has a longer wavelength, and therefore a lower photon energy, tha ...
in the blue (only) light that penetrates this far into the water.
[
]
Distribution and habitat
''Aplysina insularis'' occurs in Bermuda
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, Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
, the Bahamas
The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to 88% of the ar ...
, the Virgin Islands
The Virgin Islands ( es, Islas Vírgenes) are an archipelago in the Caribbean Sea. They are geologically and biogeographically the easternmost part of the Greater Antilles, the northern islands belonging to the Puerto Rico Trench and St. Cro ...
, the Greater Antilles
The Greater Antilles ( es, Grandes Antillas or Antillas Mayores; french: Grandes Antilles; ht, Gwo Zantiy; jam, Grieta hAntiliiz) is a grouping of the larger islands in the Caribbean Sea, including Cuba, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, a ...
, the Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico ...
, the northern half of the Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United ...
and northern Brazil. It is a moderately deep water species and occurs down to about on reef
A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral or similar relatively stable material, lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic processes— deposition of sand, wave erosion planing down rock o ...
s, particularly the outer reef slopes [ and on vertical walls.][
]
Ecology
A number of animals live inside the protective lumen of this sponge. These include the sponge cardinal fish ('' Phaeoptyx xenus'') and several species of neon goby (''Elacatinus
''Elacatinus'' is a genus of small marine gobies, often known collectively as the neon gobies. Although only one species, ''E. oceanops'', is technically the "neon goby," because of their similar appearance, other members of the genus are genera ...
'' spp.).[
]
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3375794
Verongimorpha
Fauna of the Atlantic Ocean
Fauna of the Caribbean
Sponges described in 1864