''Esperiopsis cimensis'' is a species of

demosponge Demosponges (Demospongiae) are the most diverse class in the phylum Porifera. They include 76.2% of all species of sponges with nearly 8,800 species worldwide (World Porifera Database). They are sponges with a soft body that covers a har ...

s found in the Atlantic waters around

Cape Verde , national_anthem = () , official_languages = Portuguese , national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole , capital = Praia , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , demonym ...

, western Africa. The species name is named after the type locality,

Ilhéu de Cima Ilhéu de Cima is an uninhabited island of Cape Verde. It is part of the Ilhéus do Rombo islet group, located east of Ilhéu Grande, the other main islet of the group, and northeast of the island Brava. They are administratively a part of the ...

. The species was discovered in 1986 in the waters southeast of

, one of the

Ilhéus do Rombo The Ilhéus do Rombo, also known as the Ilhéus Secos (Portuguese for "Dry Islets", because of their aridity and paucity of vegetation), are a group of small, uninhabited islands in the Cape Verde archipelago, lying off the coast of north-west Af ...

, north of the island Brava, at 165 m depth, on hard bottom with yellow calcareous sand. This is the only place where it has been observed.

References

Poecilosclerida Fauna of Brava, Cape Verde Animals described in 2012 {{Demosponge-stub