Haliclona vansoesti
De Weerdt, De Kluijver & Gomez, 1999

Description:
This sponge forms thick cushions with a loose structure, to about 15 cm in diameter and 2-3 cm thick. Oscula on slightly raised elevations, large, circular to elliptical; 0.8-1 cm in diameter, with raised, transparent rims (H. vansoesti-close up). Consistency crisp, fragile, only slightly compressible.

Color:
The surface is light purple, the choanosome white and semi-transparent.

Habitat:
In reef environments, occupying reef crevices, also growing under coral overhangs, on dead corals and other hard substrata, as well as overgrowing other sponges. Known depth range from 2 to 52 meters. In Curacao reefs, the species shows a marked increase in abundance with increasing depth in sheltered localities.

Distribution:
Curacao, Jamaica, St Vincent and Martinique.

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Porifera
Genus Haliclona
Species Haliclona vansoesti

Status in World Register of Marine Species

Synonym of Haliclona (Halichoclona) vansoesti de Weerdt,de Kluijver & Gomez, 1999

Sorry, there are no scientific synonyms and common names available for this species

Weerdt, W.H. de, Kluijver, M.J. de & R. Gomez, 1999. Haliclona (Halichoclona ) vansoesti n. sp., a new chalanid sponge species (Porifera, Demospongiae, Haplosclerida) from the Caribbean. Beaufortia, 49(6): 47-54.

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