Barrel Sponge
Xestospongia testudinaria
Petrosiidaemacro2m / 6.5ft diameterLeast Concern
About Barrel Sponge.
Giant barrel-shaped sponge that can reach 2 m in diameter, hosting hairy squat lobsters and shrimps in its osculum — a long-lived Indo-Pacific reef fixture.
Where it lives.
Moderate-current reef slopes and walls
How it behaves.
Sessile filter feeder, very slow-growing (decades per cm)
Best time to see it.
Best months to see Barrel Sponge · 12 months highlighted
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