Red Beard Sponge

Clathria (Clathria) prolifera

Other invertebrates
IUCN: Not evaluated

Usual depth13–100 m
Water temperature8–29 °C
Best monthsMay, November, and December
How commonOccasional

About this species

Clathria prolifera, commonly known as red beard sponge, is a species of sea sponge in the family Microcionidae. It is native to shallow water habitats in the western Atlantic Ocean from Prince Edward Island southwards to Florida and Mexico, and possibly Brazil. In the twentieth century it also became established on the west coast of the United States.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Clathria prolifera”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

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Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 34 records
February: 53 records
March: 53 records
April: 33 records
May: 88 records
June: 41 records
July: 58 records
August: 43 records
September: 35 records
October: 24 records
November: 111 records
December: 72 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 13–100 m · Deepest record: 220 m

0–10 m: 6 records
10–20 m: 26 records
20–30 m: 39 records
30–40 m: 19 records
40–50 m: 10 records
50–60 m: 4 records
60–70 m: 9 records
70–80 m: 5 records
80–90 m: 43 records
90–100 m: 0 records
100–110 m: 7 records
110+ m: 14 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 8–29 °C

8–10 °C: 9 records
10–12 °C: 28 records
12–14 °C: 70 records
14–16 °C: 20 records
16–18 °C: 80 records
18–20 °C: 0 records
20–22 °C: 367 records
22–24 °C: 10 records
24–26 °C: 58 records
26–28 °C: 2 records
28–30 °C: 12 records

Names and classification

English: Red Beard Sponge, red bread sponge, red moss sponge, red sponge

Names in 1 more languages

German: Roter Moosschwamm

Other scientific names: Clathria (Clathria) delicata, Clathria delicata, Clathria prolifera, Microciona prolifera, Spongia ostracina, Spongia prolifera, Spongia urceolata

Similar species

Sources and credits

Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
1,166 open-data records from 1874 to 2024.
Species data updated November 1, 2026.

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