Category: Sponges view all from this category

Description 8" tall (20 cm) and 1" (2.5 cm) wide. Sponge produces brilliantly colored tree-like, intertwined branches in red and orange. Surface is covered with tiny, scattered pores.

Habitat Ocean or bay shallows, Tidepools.

Range Eastern Canada, Florida, New England, Mid-Atlantic, California, Texas, Northwest.

Discussion Branches of the Red Beard Sponge provide important habitats for crustaceans and juvenile fish species. Reproduces both asexually and sexually. Broken branches can regenerate into new sponges. When cells from the Red Beard Sponge are separated, they have the ability to reorganize themselves.