''Cymbastela stipitata'' 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 marine

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

Axinellidae Axinellidae is a family of sponges in the order Axinellida. This family includes some photo-synthetic sponges that occur throughout the world's coral reefs. They are amongst the more common sponges seen in the aquarium trade but are usually not ...

. The sponge was first described in 1967 by

Patricia Bergquist Dame Patricia Rose Bergquist (née Smyth, 10 March 1933 – 9 September 2009) was a New Zealand zoologist who specialised in anatomy and taxonomy. At the time of her death, she was professor emerita of zoology and honorary professor of anatomy ...

and

Catherine Tizard Dame Catherine Anne Tizard (née Maclean; 4 April 1931 – 31 October 2021) was a New Zealand politician who served as mayor of Auckland City from 1983 to 1990, and the 16th governor-general of New Zealand from 1990 to 1996. She was the first ...

as ''Pseudaxinyssa stipitata'', but was assigned to the new genus, ''

Cymbastela ''Cymbastela'' is a genus of sponges in the family Axinellidae Axinellidae is a family of sponges in the order Axinellida. This family includes some photo-synthetic sponges that occur throughout the world's coral reefs. They are amongst the m ...

'', in 1992 by John Hooper and

. It is found in Australia's coastal waters, from the

Gulf of Carpentaria The Gulf of Carpentaria (, ) is a large, shallow sea enclosed on three sides by northern Australia and bounded on the north by the eastern Arafura Sea (the body of water that lies between Australia and New Guinea). The northern boundary is ...

to the north west coasts of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

. It is a sessile filter-feeder, found generally in intertidal waters on coral reefs at depths up to 19 m.

References

External links

Distribution of ''Cymbastela stipitat''
Axinellidae Taxa named by Patricia Bergquist {{demosponge-stub