NikiWei
Info
Oceanapia sagittaria (Sollas, 1902)
This sponge has a very unusual appearance. It forms a small, delicate, spiny ball with a diameter of 1 to 2 cm on a conical stalk. Oceanapia sagittaria lives alone, but sometimes several specimens can be found next to each other on coral remains. However, this ball-forming “fluff” is only a tiny part of the sponge. The largest part of the sponge is not visible.
The visible part of this sponge is an upright stalk (fistula) 3 to 8 cm high, surmounted by a translucent spherical part (capitulum) that is very fragile and has a diameter of 2 cm.
The fistulas are smooth, cylindrical, and hollow, and covered with mucus that often contains more or less agglomerated sediments.
The capitulum is membranous around the circumference, completely transparent, and reveals the exhalation channels that originate from the center of the capitulum and are provided with a small oscula with a diameter of 0.2 to 0.5 mm at each end on the membrane.
Most of the sponge is buried in the sediment and resembles a large, more or less spherical tubercle with a diameter of 5 to 10 cm. One or two fistulas, rarely more, emerge from the sediment from each tubercle. Secondary fistulas are smaller than the main fistula.
The color of this unusual sponge is usually a deep chestnut brown to light pink.
The sponge develops in sandy-muddy and contaminated soils, often at the foot of limestone cliffs. It occurs in shallow water to a depth of about twenty meters. Oceanapia sagittaria prefers murky water and not clean water, preferably without current or movement of the water.
Its distinctive appearance—a ball sitting at the end of a stalk—is unique in the world of sponges and makes it immediately identifiable. Oceanapia sagittaria could possibly be confused with a stalk-shaped sea squirt. Overall, however, confusion is very unlikely.
Synonymised names:
Adocia sagittarius (Sollas, 1902) (genus transfer)
Gellius angulatus var. canaliculata Dendy, 1905 (genus transfer and junior synonym)
Gellius canaliculatus Dendy, 1905 (genus transfer & junior synonym)
Gellius sagittarius Sollas, 1902 (genus transfer)
Orina sagittaria (Sollas, 1902) (genus transfer)
This sponge has a very unusual appearance. It forms a small, delicate, spiny ball with a diameter of 1 to 2 cm on a conical stalk. Oceanapia sagittaria lives alone, but sometimes several specimens can be found next to each other on coral remains. However, this ball-forming “fluff” is only a tiny part of the sponge. The largest part of the sponge is not visible.
The visible part of this sponge is an upright stalk (fistula) 3 to 8 cm high, surmounted by a translucent spherical part (capitulum) that is very fragile and has a diameter of 2 cm.
The fistulas are smooth, cylindrical, and hollow, and covered with mucus that often contains more or less agglomerated sediments.
The capitulum is membranous around the circumference, completely transparent, and reveals the exhalation channels that originate from the center of the capitulum and are provided with a small oscula with a diameter of 0.2 to 0.5 mm at each end on the membrane.
Most of the sponge is buried in the sediment and resembles a large, more or less spherical tubercle with a diameter of 5 to 10 cm. One or two fistulas, rarely more, emerge from the sediment from each tubercle. Secondary fistulas are smaller than the main fistula.
The color of this unusual sponge is usually a deep chestnut brown to light pink.
The sponge develops in sandy-muddy and contaminated soils, often at the foot of limestone cliffs. It occurs in shallow water to a depth of about twenty meters. Oceanapia sagittaria prefers murky water and not clean water, preferably without current or movement of the water.
Its distinctive appearance—a ball sitting at the end of a stalk—is unique in the world of sponges and makes it immediately identifiable. Oceanapia sagittaria could possibly be confused with a stalk-shaped sea squirt. Overall, however, confusion is very unlikely.
Synonymised names:
Adocia sagittarius (Sollas, 1902) (genus transfer)
Gellius angulatus var. canaliculata Dendy, 1905 (genus transfer and junior synonym)
Gellius canaliculatus Dendy, 1905 (genus transfer & junior synonym)
Gellius sagittarius Sollas, 1902 (genus transfer)
Orina sagittaria (Sollas, 1902) (genus transfer)
