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Halichondria sp. (Breadcrumb sponge)
Copyright ©
2005 Mary Jo Adams
Watch
for breadcrumb sponge on boulders low in the intertidal. It often
grows on the underside of boulders so you may have to get down on
your hands and knees to find it. Color varies from tan to yellow
or green. Its overall growth pattern is irregular with encrustation
to about an inch thick. Look for low rising oscula (excurrent pores).
Sponges feed by filtering plankton from the water column.
If you're not sure that what you're looking at is a sponge, feel
it; sponge will feel soft and velvety.
This page was created by Mary Jo Adams on 10/26/05.
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Additional
information on this species may be found as follows:
Seashore
Life of the Northern Pacific Coast; An Illustrated Guide to Northern
California, Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia by Eugene
N. Kozloff. University of Washington Press, 1993.
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