''Clathria hillenburgi'', also known as ''Clathria (Axosuberites) hillenburgi,'' 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 ...

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 t ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Microcionidae Microcionidae is a family of marine demosponges. Subdivisions The following genera are recognized within the family Microcionidae: * Subfamily Microcioninae Carter 1875 ** ''Clathria'' Schmidt, 1862 ** '' Echinochalina'' Thiele, 1903 ** ''Holop ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to the coast of

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. It has been documented in

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evoluti ...

habitats off the coast of

Paraíba Paraíba ( Tupi: ''pa'ra a'íba''; ) is a state of Brazil. It is located in the Brazilian Northeast, and it is bordered by Rio Grande do Norte to the north, Ceará to the west, Pernambuco to the south and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Paraíba ...

, where it has been found growing on ''

Rhizophora ''Rhizophora'' is a genus of tropical mangrove trees, sometimes collectively called true mangroves. The most notable species is the red mangrove (''Rhizophora mangle'') but some other species and a few natural hybrids are known. ''Rhizophora'' sp ...

'' roots in the

Mamanguape River The Mamanguape River is a river in the Paraíba state, Northeastern Brazil. Part of the river basin is in the Guaribas Biological Reserve, a fully protected conservation unit created in 1990. See also *List of rivers of Paraíba A ''list'' i ...

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...

. Despite being found off the coast of tropical Brazil, this species closely resembles '' C. (Thalysias) mauriceburtoni'' (formerly ''C. flabellata'') and '' C. (Axosuberites) georgiaensis'', two species found off the coast of

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...

. This species was named in honor of

Stephen Hillenburg Stephen McDannell Hillenburg (August 21, 1961 – November 26, 2018) was an American animator, writer, producer, director, and marine science educator. He is known for creating the Nickelodeon animated television series ''SpongeBob SquarePants' ...

, an American marine science educator and creator of the famous animated series ''

Spongebob Squarepants ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' (or simply ''SpongeBob'') is an American animated comedy television series created by marine science educator and animator Stephen Hillenburg for Nickelodeon. It chronicles the adventures of the title character a ...

'', who had died several months prior to the species' description.

References

Poecilosclerida Animals described in 2019 Endemic fauna of Brazil SpongeBob SquarePants {{Demospongiae-stub