''Haliclona caerulea'' is a species of marine sponge 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 ...

Chalinidae Chalinidae is a family of marine demosponges, containing the following genera: * '' Chalinula'' Schmidt, 1868 * '' Cladocroce'' Topsent, 1892 * '' Dendrectilla'' Pulitzer-Finali, 1983 * '' Dendroxea'' Griessinger, 1971 * ''Haliclona ''Haliclon ...

. It is an encrusting tubular sponge that grows anchored on rocky surfaces of

coral reefs A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of Colony (biology), colonies of coral polyp (zoology), polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, wh ...

Name

The name of the species relates to its blue color: Latin caeruleus: cerulean blue, like the sky, or the ocean.

Morphology

''Haliclona caerulea'' takes the form of an encrusting mass of cylindrical to volcano-shaped projections between 2 and 15 cm, with oscula at the high end. The oscula are circular or oval, and between 1.3 and 5.0 mm in diameter. The body has radial symmetry and consists, on the outside, of flattened cells known as pinacocytes. The inner part is formed by cells called choanocytes, equipped with a

flagellum A flagellum (; ) is a hairlike appendage that protrudes from certain plant and animal sperm cells, and from a wide range of microorganisms to provide motility. Many protists with flagella are termed as flagellates. A microorganism may have f ...

. These cells have a dual function: ingesting food particles, and maintaining the flow of water through the sponge's body. Between the two layers a more or less gelatinous substance called mesohyl. Sclerocyte cells are responsible for secreting a kind of skeleton for supporting the sponge's body, formed of spongin fibers. As its name suggests, the most common color is blue, but individuals may be beige or white.

Distribution

Its geographic distribution includes the western tropical Atlantic, from

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 ...

and the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, 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 ...

, to the Caribbean Sea, reaching the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

and the Pacific coast of Mexico and Panama. is also found on the islands of

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

and

Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...

, and its unintended introduction that reached these islands from

biofouling Biofouling or biological fouling is the accumulation of microorganisms, plants, algae, or small animals where it is not wanted on surfaces such as ship and submarine hulls, devices such as water inlets, pipework, grates, ponds, and rivers that ...

on the hulls of ships.

Habitat and ecological roles

It is commonly seen growing in beds of the seagrass '' Thalassia'', and in rocky coral rubble habitats. Studies reported their symbiosis with calcareous alga ''

Jania adhaerens Jania may refer to: * Jania (given name), a female given name, also spelled Janiya * ''Jania'' (alga), J.V.Lamouroux, 1812, a coralline algae genus * ''Jania'' Schult. & Schult.f., 1830, a plant genus, now considered a synonym of ''Moraea ''Mo ...

''.

Aquaria

''Haliclona cerulea'' can sometimes be found in the

aquarium An aquarium (plural: ''aquariums'' or ''aquaria'') is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aq ...

trade, often sold simply as "Haliclona sp."

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2140487

caerulea ''Caerulea'' is a genus of butterflies in the family Lycaenidae. It is a small genus with only two species. *'' Caerulea coeligena'' (Oberthür, 1876) western China, central China. *'' Caerulea coelestis'' (Alphéraky, 1897) Tibet, western Chin ...

Animals described in 1965