DiscoverSpeciesOther invertebrates
elephant ear sponge
Ianthella basta
- Usual depth22–53 m
- Water temperature23–30 °C
- Best monthsApril, October, and November
- How commonRare
Photo credit: (c) Dan Schofield, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Dan Schofield · CC BY · iNaturalist
About this species
Ianthella basta is a species of fan-shaped sea sponge in the class Demospongiae. It is also known as the elephant ear sponge, paper sponge, or scroll sponge.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Ianthella basta”, 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: 34 records
- February: 40 records
- March: 34 records
- April: 50 records
- May: 20 records
- June: 20 records
- July: 15 records
- August: 28 records
- September: 18 records
- October: 43 records
- November: 46 records
- December: 28 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 22–53 m · Deepest record: 64.1 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 23–30 °C
Photos
(c) João D'Andretta, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Dan Schofield, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Greg III Espera, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist 
(c) Greg III Espera, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Daniel Eisenhauer, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
Names and classification
- English
- elephant ear sponge, paper sponge, scroll sponge
Other scientific names: Spongia basta, Spongia grossa, Spongia striata
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).
- 268 open-data records from 1908 to 2012.
- Species data updated November 3, 2026.
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