Phylum Porifera, Sponges

Updated 4/1/2024

Accurate identification is very difficult since form and color are variable within many species, therefore below are best guesses. Sponges are filter-feeders composed of flagellated cells reinforced by spongin fiber and (usually) tiny structural rods called spicules. Microscopic examination of spicules, fibers, and tissue cross-sections are critical to species identification. Texture may be soft and delicate or hard as rock. Sponges are effective biological filters, extracting bacteria and viruses from the current, improving water quality. Chemicals extracted from food are then utilized for defense from grazing organisms, and may contribute to the sponge's coloration. Despite this, some fish and mollusks prey upon specific types of sponge. Due to the sharp spicules and toxic chemicals, contact should be avoided. Many species are found worldwide, carried from place to place on ship hulls or in ballast water.

FRESHWATER

AMERICAS / HAWAII

Class Calcarea

Family Spongillidae

Heteromyenia baileyi

Sumida Farm, Aiea, Hawaii

BAILEY'S FRESHWATER SPONGE

Alien species found in found in lowland springs. Native to North and South America.

MARINE SPONGES

INDO-PACIFIC / HAWAII

Class Calcarea

Family Leucettidae

Leucetta spp.


Blowhole, Oahu, 20 feet	Makapu'u, Oahu, 20 feet
Sharks Cove, Oahu, 25 feet	Pupukea Firehouse, O'ahu, 20 feet

LEUCETTA

Common on cavern ceilings or under slabs exposed to surge.

Class Demospongiae

Family Azoricidae

Leiodermatium sp.

Sharks Cove, Oahu, 25 feet

WAVY CAVE SPONGE

A rock-solid species common on cave ceilings, forms encrusting sheets with irregular folds. Preyed upon by Fellow's Nudibranch.

Family Hemiasterellidae

Liosina paradoxa

Kewalo Pipe, Oahu, 50 feet

PARADOXICAL SPONGE

Common on reefs near harbors. Large lobate masses with soft texture but tough skin. East Africa to the Solomon Islands and Hawai'i.

Family Tethyidae

Tethya spp.


Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, 15 feet

GLOBE SPONGE

Occurs in harbors among rubble, firm and prickly with numerous oscula and chocked with sediment.

Family Desmacellidae

Biemna fistulosa

Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, Oahu, 8 feet

YELLOW TUBE SPONGE

Common in harbors, dull yellow tubes with a ragged appearance, often overgrown.

Family Dysideidae

Dysidea avara




Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, Oahu, 8 feet
Moku o Loe, Kaneohe Bay, Oahu, 3 feet

PINK DYSIDEA

Occasional in harbors, pale pink spherical mounds with a prickly surface of sharp peaks joined by web-like ridges.

Dysidea herbacea

Okoe Bay, Hawaii, 45 feet

BLUE DYSIDEA

A blue-gray encrusting species common on outer reefs.

Dysidea sp.

Pearl & Hermes Reef lagoon, 30 feet

LAVENDER DYSIDEA

An undescribed species from the NW Hawaiian Islands.

Family Darwinellidae

Chelonaplysilla violacea



Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, Oahu, 10 feet

VIOLET SPONGE

Occurs in harbors and nearby reefs on hard surfaces. Soft smooth cushions with tiny ostial pores of uniform size and scattered large oscula, deep or dull gray-purple. West Pacific to Hawaii and Panama. Formerly known as Aplysilla violacea.

Family Chalinidae

Haliclona caerulea

Ft. Kamehameha, Oahu, 8 feet

BLUE TUBE SPONGE

Common in harbors on hard surfaces, accidental introduction via Atlantic shipping. Firm pale blue encrustations with raised oscular tubes, dying color fades to yellow-green then white.

Haliclona laubenfelsi


Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, Oahu, 6 feet	Moku o Loe, Oahu, 6 feet

VIOLET SPONGE

Common in harbors, massive with elevated oscular tubes, pale violet. Formerly known as Toxadocia violacea.

Haliclona osiris


Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, Oahu, 6 feet
Sand Island, Oahu, 10 feet	Rockpiles/Ala Moana, Oahu, 30 feet

OSIRIS SPONGE

Common in harbors and nearby reefs, thick flesh-colored mounds, sometimes with a frosted appearance, and many large irregular oscula.

Family Petrosiidae

Neopetrosia sp.

Sand Island, Oahu, 15 feet

Dead

BLUE JORUNNA SPONGE

Common on shallow reefs near harbors, accidental introduction from the West Pacific. Firm and encrusting, cobalt blue. Preyed upon by the nudribranch Jorunna funebris.

Family Halichondriidae

Halichondria coerulea


Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, Oahu, 6 feet	Makai Pier, Waimanalo, Oahu, 6 feet

BLUE THREAD SPONGE

Common in harbors, light blue or turquoise branches.

Halichondria melanadocia



Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, Oahu, 6 feet

BLACK THREAD SPONGE

Common in harbors, black irregular encrustations, often branching. Surface is smooth and minutely porous, without sharp ridges or points.

Family Niphatidae

Gelliodes fibrosa

Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, Oahu, 12 feet
Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, Oahu, 6 feet

GRAY ENCRUSTING SPONGE

Uncommon in harbors, dark gray encrusting lobes with webbed texture.

Family Chondropsidae

Batzella sp.

Blowhole, Oahu, 20 feet

GREEN ENCRUSTING SPONGE

Occurs on cavern ceilings exposed to wave action.

Family Timeidae

Timea sp.



Blowhole, Oahu, 20 feet

ORANGE ZOANTHID SPONGE

Occurs on cavern ceilings exposed to wave action. Embedded with tiny zoanthid anemone polyps.

Family Chondrosiidae

Chondrosia chucalla

Makapu'u tidepool, Oahu

Blowhole, Oahu, 20 feet

MEANDERING SPONGE

A tough rubbery species common on reefs exposed to wave action. Hawaii & the Indo-Pacific.

Family Clionaidae

Spheciospongia vagabunda

Kewalo, Oahu, Hawaii, 40 feet

Puako, Hawaii, 20 feet

VAGABOND BORING SPONGE

A common species that erodes calcareous rock using acid. Locally abundant in limestone pavement deeper than 15 feet. Hawaii & the Indo-Pacific. Formerly known as Spirastrella vagabunda.

Family Thorectidae

Hyrtios sp.

Blowhole, Oahu, 20 feet

YELLOW HYRTIOS

Common on cavern ceilings exposed to surge. Forms encrusting cushions with network of peaks, pores inconspicuous.

Dactylospongia sp.

Blowhole, Oahu, 20 feet

YELLOW CAVE SPONGE

Common on cavern ceilings exposed to surge. Forms thick sheets with irregular oscular ridges.

Family Anchinoidae

Phorbas spp.

Puako, Hawaii, 25 feet

RED PHORBAS SPONGE

Common on or under coral deeper than 15 feet. Fragile sheets with close-set pores of two sizes.

Family Microcionidae

Clathria (Thalysias) spp.

STRIPED SPONGE

Common on hard surfaces in bays and harbors, thin with radiating lines resembling snowy mountain ridges.

Family Mycalidae

Mycale grandis

Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, Oahu, 6 feet

Moku o loe, Kaneohe Bay, Oahu, 6 feet

ORANGE KEYHOLE SPONGE

Common on hard substrate in harbors and sheltered bays. Red-orange and smooth with large, often irregular oscula. Inhabited by tiny brittle stars. Formerly known as Mycale armata.

Mycale parishii

Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, Oahu, 6 feet

Kewalo Hump, Oahu, 90 feet

DULL BROWN SPONGE

Common on hard surfaces in harbors. Thick and encrusting with skin stretched over cones and ridges, color variable, dull brown mixed with red, purple, or yellow, orange, or lavender. Formerly known as Zygomycale parishi.

Mycale cecilia



Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, Oahu, 6 feet

RED-SPOTTED SPONGE

Common on hard surfaces in harbors. Encrusting translucent yellow, orange, red, pink, lavender, or gray-blue with red flecks, has a cobwebby appearance. Native to the Tropical Eastern Pacific. Formerly known as Mycale maunakea.

Stylinos sp.

Sharks Cove, Oahu, 35 feet

PITTED ORANGE SPONGE

Common on outer reefs, small encrusting patches with soft flesh, many small pores surrounded by spikes and some larger raised oscula.

Family Tedaniidae

Tedania ignis


Waiau, Pearl Harbor, Oahu, 6 feet




Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, Oahu, 8 feet

FIRE SPONGE

Common in harbors, encrusting mounds, thin and fragile with small elevated oscula giving a disorganized appearance, carmine red, orange, or yellow. Causes severe pain and dermatitis upon contact. Native to the Tropical Atlantic.

Family Guitarridae

Tetrapocillon sp.

Mokuleia Bay, Maui, 20 feet

BLACK CAVE SPONGE

A thin black species common on caverns and walls exposed to surge.

Family Suberitidae

Suberites aurantiacus





Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, Oahu, 6 feet

LOBATE SPONGE

Common on hard surfaces in harbors and sheltered bays. Soft and easily torn, yet thick and encrusting, with swollen lobes, internally yellow but external color ranges from reddish-orange, to dull yellow or dark green. Formerly known as Terpios zeteki.

Suberites sp.

Lana'i Lookout, Oahu, 25 feet

BLUE CAVE SPONGE

Locally common on shaded vertical walls exposed to surge.

Family Spongiidae

Spongia oceania

Makapu'u, Oahu, 20 feet

BLACK OCEANIC SPONGE

Locally common on outer reefs exposed to surge. Preyed upon by the Blackmargin Nudibranch. Hawaii and the Indo-West Pacific.

Assorted species


100-foot Hole, Waikiki, Oahu, 85 feet	Blowhole, Oahu, 20 feet
Makapu'u tidepool, Oahu	Blowhole, Oahu, 20 feet
Firehouse, Oahu, 25 feet	Ft. Kamehameha, Oahu, 3 feet
Moku o Loe, Oahu, 5 feet	Sea Tiger Wreck, Oahu, 85 feet
Blowhole, Oahu, 25 feet	Cargo Pier, Midway Atoll, 6 feet

Moku o Loe, Oahu, 4 feet
Lana'i Lookout, Oahu, 20 feet	Sand Island, Oahu, 10 feet
Ala Wai harbor, Oahu, 3 feet	Makapu'u, Oahu, 120 feet