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Tree sponge
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Porifera
Class:	Demospongiae
Order:	Poecilosclerida
Family:	Microcionidae
Genus:	Echinoclathria
Species:	E. dichotoma
Binomial name
Echinoclathria dichotoma (Lévi, 1963)
Synonyms
Ophlitaspongia dichotoma Lévi, 1963

The tree sponge (Echinoclathria dichotoma) is a species of demosponge. It is known from the west coast of South Africa to Cape Agulhas. It is endemic to this region.

Description

The tree sponge may grow to 150 mm (5.9 in) in height. It is a bright red to dirty orange sponge which grows upright and branches like a tree. The surface texture is smooth and the branch tips are rounded. Its oscula are small (<1 mm (0.039 in) and inconspicuous. The surface may be covered in a slimy mucus.

Distribution and habitat

This sponge is found on the south and west coasts of South Africa where it lives on rocky reefs subtidally to 69 m (226 ft).

Ecology

This sponge is often colonised by a white zoanthid, Parazoanthus sp.

References

1. ^ Samaai, T. and Gibbons, M.J. 2005. Demospongiae taxonomy and biodiversity of the Benguela region on the west coast of South Africa. Afr. Nat. Hist. 1(1):1-96
2. ^ Atkinson, Lara J; Sink, Kerry J (2018). Field guide to the offshore marine invertebrates of South Africa (PDF). Pretoria: South African Environmental Observation Network. ISBN 978-1-86868-098-6. OCLC 1037159161.
3. Jones, Georgina. A field guide to the marine animals of the Cape Peninsula. SURG, Cape Town, 2008. ISBN 978-0-620-41639-9
4. Branch, G.M., Branch, M.L, Griffiths, C.L. and Beckley, L.E. 2010. Two Oceans: a guide to the marine life of southern Africa ISBN 978-1-77007-772-0

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