Aplysina aerophoba
| Aplysina aerophoba | ||||||||||
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Aplysina aerophoba |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||
| Aplysina aerophoba | ||||||||||
| Nardo , 1843 |
Aplysina aerophoba , is a species of sponges and belongs to the class of horned silica sponges . Because of its color, it is also known as the gold sponge or golden cone sponge. The specific epithet aerophoba comes from the Greek and means fear of the air , as the sponge turns blue-black in the air.
features
Aplysina aerophoba forms colonies that can reach a diameter of over 1 meter. The individual tubes are up to 4 cm high and 2.5 cm in diameter and each have an osculum . The sponge is light yellow, with a slightly greenish-reddish hue that comes from cyanobacteria that are embedded in the mesohyl . There the cyanobacteria contribute up to 38% of the biomass of the sponge. Bromine-containing compounds can account for up to 12% of the dry matter. If the tissue is injured, isoxazoline alkaloids are converted to aeroplysinin-1 and a dienone derived from it , which are interpreted as a chemical defense against predators and as an agent against biofouling .
Occurrence
The distribution area includes the Mediterranean and the eastern Atlantic from Spain and the Azores south at least to the Canary Islands . The species can be relatively common on rocky coasts between 0.5 m and 20 m deep.
ecology
The snail Tylodina perversa feeds on the sponge and lays its eggs on it.
swell
- ↑ a b c d Peter Wirtz, Helmut Debelius: Lower animals Mediterranean and Atlantic Hamburg. Jahr-Top-Special-Verlag, Hamburg 2003, ISBN 3-86132-681-7
- ↑ Rupert Riedl: Fauna and flora of the Mediterranean. Parey, Hamburg 1983, ISBN 3-490-23418-9
- ↑ Werner EG Müller: Sponges (Porifera) . Springer-Verlag, Berlin Heidelberg 2003, ISBN 3-540-00968-X
