Boring sponge

Cliona celata

Other invertebrates
IUCN: Not evaluated

Usual depth7–38 m
Water temperature9–28 °C
Best monthsJune, July, and August
How commonCommon

Photo credit: (c) Shaun Lee, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

About this species

Cliona celata, occasionally called the boring sponge, is a species of demosponge belonging the family Clionaidae. It is found worldwide. This sponge bores round holes up to 5 millimetres (0.20 in) in diameter in limestone or the shells of molluscs, especially oysters. The sponge itself is often visible as a rather featureless yellow or orange lump at the bottom of the hole.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Cliona celata”, 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: 667 records
February: 234 records
March: 344 records
April: 1,023 records
May: 1,876 records
June: 2,279 records
July: 3,108 records
August: 2,680 records
September: 1,967 records
October: 689 records
November: 434 records
December: 313 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 7–38 m · Deepest record: 168 m

0–10 m: 2,019 records
10–20 m: 4,850 records
20–30 m: 2,735 records
30–40 m: 513 records
40–50 m: 253 records
50–60 m: 261 records
60–70 m: 236 records
70–80 m: 128 records
80–90 m: 31 records
90–100 m: 55 records
100–110 m: 36 records
110+ m: 75 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 9–28 °C

8–10 °C: 10 records
10–12 °C: 342 records
12–14 °C: 492 records
14–16 °C: 0 records
16–18 °C: 2 records
18–20 °C: 4 records
20–22 °C: 3 records
22–24 °C: 1 records
24–26 °C: 2 records
26–28 °C: 1 records
28–30 °C: 1 records

Photos

no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
(c) Thomas Irvine, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) oksanaetal, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Vsevolod Rudyi, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Julien Renoult, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Bernard Picton, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

Names and classification

English: Boring sponge, Red boring sponge, Sulfur sponge, Yellow boring horny sponge, Yellow boring sponge, boring sponge, Boring Sponge, red boring sponge, Red Boring Sponge, sulfur sponge, Sulfur Sponge, Sulphur Boring Sponge, yellow boring horny sponge, Yellow Boring Horny Sponge, yellow boring sponge, Yellow Boring Sponge

Names in 5 more languages

German: Bohrschwamm, gelber Bohrschwamm, gelber Borschwamm, Zellenbohrschwamm
Spanish: esponja perforante
French: clione jaune, éponge jaune
Japanese: カクレセンコウカイメン
Korean: 호박해면

Other scientific names: Cliona alderi, Cliona angulata, Cliona clio, Cliona coccinea, Cliona globulifera, Cliona gorgonioides, Cliona griffithsii, Cliona hystrix, Cliona pasithea, Cliona sulphurea, Cliona tenebrosus, Cliona terebrans, Cliona typica, Halichondria celata, Halichondria hystrix, Hymeniacidon celata, Hymeniacidon celatus, Hymeniacidon tenebrosus, Pione typica, Raphyrus griffithsii, Rhaphyrus griffithsii, Spongia peziza, Spongia sulphurea, Spongia terebrans, Suberites griffithsii, Vioa celata, Vioa clio, Vioa coccinea, Vioa dujardini, Vioa pasithea

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).
18,557 open-data records from 1826 to 2024.
Species data updated November 1, 2026.

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