Demospongiae | 
Haplosclerida | 
Petrosiidae
			
			
			
				Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range				
				
					Ecology				
				
			
			
				Sessile; brackish; depth range 53 - 60 m (Ref. 128739).  Subtropical			
			
			
				
			
			
			
				Western Atlantic.
			
			
			
			
			
				Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
			
			
				Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm Max length : 4.0 cm OT male/unsexed; (Ref. 415)			
			
			
							
				
				
					
						Thick crusts:  1 - 4 cm in thickness, or sprawling masses with lobes.  Color red-brown to pink externally and tan to yellowish internally.  Oscules:  0.3 - 1 cm in diameter.  Smooth surface, sometimes with zoanthids.  Hard and fragile in consistency (Ref. 415).  Porous surface, rugged with narrow conical to flattened protuberances.  Dark greenish brown exteriorly, cream interior.  Adhesive mucus exudate when animal is cut and touched.  Flush oscules slightly elevated (Ref. 85482).					
				
				
						
			
			
			
			
				
					Maximum body thickness:  4 cm (Ref. 415). Common on sand and hard bottoms (Ref. 85482) of reef environments, coral rubble and seagrass beds (Ref. 415).  Also found in mangroves (Ref. 86836).  It hosts alpheid shrimps in its canals (Ref. 86626).  Inhabits shallow rocky shores and reefs, deep reef habitats, caves, coralline algae reefs, and silted lower mesophotic reefs (Ref. 128739).				
			
			
			
			
			
				Life cycle and mating behavior				
					Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae				
			
			
				
					Members of the class Demospongiae are hermaphroditic.  Life cycle:  The zygote develops into parenchymella larva (free-swimming) before settling down on a substrate where it grows into a young sponge.				
			
			
			
			
			
				Collin, R., M.C. Díaz, J. Norenburg, R.M. Rocha, J.A. Sánchez, M. Schulze, A. Schwartz and A. Valdés 2005 Photographic identification guide to some common marine invertebrates of Bocas Del Toro, Panama. Caribbean Journal of Science. 41(3):638-707. (Ref. 415)
			
			
			
			
			
			
			
					
						IUCN Red List Status    
						 (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-1)
					
					
					
				
			
			
			
			
				CITES status   (Ref. 108899)
			
			
				
					Not Evaluated				
			
			
			
			
			
			
				
					Not Evaluated				
			
			
			
			
			
				Threat to humans  
			
			
				
					  Harmless				
			
			
			
			
			
			
			
			
				Human uses  
			
			
							
			
			
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					More information				
				
					 Trophic EcologyFood items (preys)
Diet composition
Food consumption
Predators
  Population dynamicsGrowth
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversion
Abundance
  Life cycleReproductionMaturityFecunditySpawningEggsEgg developmentLarvae   PhysiologyOxygen consumption
  Human RelatedStamps, coins, misc.
  
			 
			
			
			
				Internet sources
			
			
			
			
			
				Estimates based on models
			
			
			
							
			
			
			
			
			
						
							
				
					
						Fishing Vulnerability  					
					
					
						Low vulnerability (10 of 100).					
				
						
						
			
									
						Price category  					
					
					Unknown.