Aplysina fistularis

Size

Colony height: 5-10cm (2-4"). Branch diameter: 2-4cm (0.8-1.6")

Recognition Characters

Sponge is thick-walled, has hollow cylinders, and is fairly uniform in diameter. Groups of basally united or laterally coalescent tubes are frequent. The apices are commonly provided with numerous thin, digitate processes. Consistency in life is firmly spongy and tough; stiff and brittle when dry. Surface is smooth to finely conulose or rugose. The fibroreticulation of the skeleton is invariably coarse and irregular.

Color

Bright yellow, occasionally has mustard or greenish tinges on surface.

Habitat & Depth

Tropical reefs and deeper temperate reefs off the Atlantic closer to Gulf Stream.

Distribution at GRNMS

Absent. May be found on deeper reefs closer to Gulf Stream.

Geographic Range

North Carolina south to Florida, Caribbean and West Indies, Bermuda

Behavior & Notes

Although species is reported in this range no voucher specimens have been collected.

Synonyms

References

Sterrer 1986