Species Overview

Xestospongia edaphus (de Laubenfels, 1930).

SPONGE:

Shape: Massive or encrusting
Size_thickness( Massive ): to 20 cm
Size_Thickness (Encrusting): to 2 cm
Color_Alive: Buff-white or lavender
Consistency: Friable to stony hard.

HABITAT:

Benthic Region: Marine: Low intertidal to Subtidal
Distribution: Southern California to Northern California

Surface:

Texture: superficially smooth

Skeleton:

Composition: Silicate
Architecture: skeleton with a greater abundance of confused spicules but a basic isodictyal pattern remains. Vertical paucispicular tracts with cross spicules oriented horizontally and diagonally.

Oscula:

Shape: oval round
Diameter: -1- mm

Ectosome:

Architecture: reticulation near the surface provided with much spongin

Choanosome:

Architecture: skeleton with a greater abundance of confused spicules but a basic isodictyal pattern remains. Vertical paucispicular tracts with cross spicules oriented horizontally and diagonally.

Megasclere:

Shape: Oxeas
Length: 260 -275- 300 µ
Width: 12 -13- 15 µ

Microsclere:

Shape: Sigmas
Length: 46 -(52|81)- 118 µ

Microsclere:

Shape: Sigmas with unequal arms
Length: 75 -(87|96)- 118 µ