
DiscoverSpeciesOther invertebrates
Cliona orientalis
- Usual depth3–20 m
- Water temperature23–29 °C
- Best monthsFebruary, June, and December
- How commonRare
Photo credit: (c) portioid, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
About this species
Cliona orientalis is a species of demosponge in the family Clionaidae. It occurs in the Indo-Pacific region and is a bioeroding species, with various specialisations for living on and inside calcareous substrates such as massive corals and molluscs.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Cliona orientalis”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article
Where and when
Where it has been recorded
Worldwide
Loading the map
Best months
Worldwide (open data)
- January: 12 records
- February: 19 records
- March: 16 records
- April: 4 records
- May: 8 records
- June: 20 records
- July: 6 records
- August: 8 records
- September: 15 records
- October: 15 records
- November: 19 records
- December: 26 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 3–20 m · Deepest record: 24.6 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 23–29 °C
Photos

(c) Debra Baker, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist 
(c) Debra Baker, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) portioid, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Georgina Jones, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist
Names and classification
Other scientific names: Anthosigmella orientalis
Similar species
Boring spongeCliona celata
Green boring spongeCliona viridis
Blue-eyed boring spongeCliona caesia

Neptune's cup spongeCliona patera
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).
- 144 open-data records from 1894 to 2019.
- Species data updated November 1, 2026.
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