Purple-encrusting sponges
Click to enlarge image
Purple-encrusting Sponge, genus Haliclona
Image: Dr Isobel Bennett
© Australian Museum
© Australian Museum
Fast Facts
-
Classification
- Genus
- Haliclona
- Family
- Chalinidae
- Order
- Haplosclerida
- Subclass
- Ceractinomorpha
- Class
- Demospongiae
- Phylum
- Porifera
- Kingdom
- Animalia
Introduction
Purple-encrusting sponges are probably the easiest sponges to see on Sydney's rocky shores.
Identification
Always a light purple colour, these sponges are covered in small crater-like holes over their surface.
Purple-encrusting sponges
Image: Dr Isobel Bennett© Australian Museum
Habitat
Purple-encrusting sponges live on intertidal rocky shores.
Distribution
Purple-encrusting sponges are found in waters around Australia.
Distribution data sourced from the Atlas of Living Australia
Other behaviours and adaptations
Purple-encrusting sponges can be found near the low-tide mark attached to rock surfaces in small, irregular-shaped patches. They are the only sponges common in rock pools exposed to full sunlight.
