DiscoverSpeciesOther invertebrates
Neptune's cup sponge
Cliona patera
- Usual depth8–32 m
- Water temperature27–29 °C
- Best monthsMarch and September
- How commonRare
Photo credit: (c) Photographer: Henk Caspers/Naturalis, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist
About this species
Cliona patera, commonly called Neptune's cup sponge, is a species of demosponge in the family Clionaidae.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Cliona patera”, 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: 2 records
- February: 1 records
- March: 8 records
- April: 3 records
- May: 0 records
- June: 0 records
- July: 0 records
- August: 3 records
- September: 5 records
- October: 4 records
- November: 4 records
- December: 4 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 8–32 m · Deepest record: 32.3 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 27–29 °C
Names and classification
- English
- Neptune's cup sponge
Names in 2 more languages
- German
- Neptunsbecher
- Thai
- ฟองน้ำหูช้าง
Other scientific names: Cliona amphitritae, Poterion amphitritae, Poterion neptuni, Poterion patera, Rhaphiophora patera, Spongia (Poterion) neptuni, Spongia patera
Similar species
Boring spongeCliona celata
Green boring spongeCliona viridis
Blue-eyed boring spongeCliona caesia
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).
- 67 open-data records from 1981 to 2005.
- Species data updated November 1, 2026.
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