sponges text index | photo index
Phylum Porifera
Purple branching sponge
Callyspongia sp.*
Family Callyspongiidae
updated Oct 2016

Where seen? Like a little purple bush, this sponge is commonly seen on hard surfaces near the mid-water mark on our Northern shores. Often, it is the most abundant large sponge on the shore.

Features:
A bunch of 'stems' slender (1-1.5cm thick) and long (10-15cm), usually growing upright but sometimes sprawling horizontally hugging the surface. The stems are not extensively branched and cylindrical with rounded tips (not tapering). With small shallow holes regularly spaced along the length of the 'stem' (not just at the tips, and the 'stem' is not a hollow tube). The surface texture is rough. Colours usually purple to lilac.

Pulau Sekudu, Jan 06

Tuas, Dec 03

Pulau Sekudu, Jul 06

*Species are difficult to positively identify without close examination.
On this website, they are grouped by external features for convenience of display.

Purple branching sponges on Singapore shores
On wildsingapore flickr

Other sightings on Singapore shores


East Coast (PCN), May 21
Photo shared by Vincent Choo on facebook..

Links

References

  • Lim Swee Cheng, Nicole de Voogd and Tan Koh Siang. 2008. A Guide to Sponges of Singapore. Singapore Science Centre. 173pp.
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