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Mermaid's glove sponge
Sponge & Cnidarian
Mermaid's glove sponge
Haliclona (Haliclona) oculata (Linnaeus, 1759)
WoRMS AphialID
132833
<a href=BOLD:ACB4133
https://bench.boldsystems.org/index.php/Public_BarcodeCluster?clusteruri=BOLD:ACB4133 target="_blank" style="text-decoration: underline">BOLD:ACB4133
https://bench.boldsystems.org/index.php/Public_BarcodeCluster?clusteruri=BOLD:ACB4133
Sample IDs
ESS21 https://bench.boldsystems.org/index.php/MAS_DataRetrieval_OpenSpecimen?selectedrecordid=ATCSP034-23
ESS137
https://bench.boldsystems.org/index.php/MAS_DataRetrieval_OpenSpecimen?selectedrecordid=ATCSP055-23
Collected
Scotian Shelf
Distinguishing Features
• External appearance: Branched yellow to brown sponge (Fig. A). Branches slightly flattened with a velvety surface. Rows of oscula (holes) along the branches. Height can be up to 30 cm.
• Skeleton (Fig. B): Regular reticulate skeleton with ascending columns of 2-3 oxea joined by a single oxea. No specialised ectosomal skeleton.
• Spicules (Fig. C): Short, fat oxea with short points: ARC 82149: 113(123)136 by 7(9)12 μm.
Habitat
Attaches to bedrock and stones. Occurs from the infralittoral down to around 100 m.
Geographic Range
Found on both sides of the North Atlantic: from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to North Carolina on the west and from Russia south to Portugal on the eastern side.
Fun Fact
Scientists have found that bioactive compounds (chemicals) from this sponge have anti-fungal properties and potential for treating liver cancer.
Barcode Distribution
BIN has records from the USA and the Netherlands.
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