Yellow-fingered horny sponge

Iophon nigricans

Other invertebrates
IUCN: Not evaluated

Usual depth18–76 m
Water temperature7–29 °C
Best monthsMay, June, and August
How commonOccasional

All species

Photo credit: (c) Bernard Picton, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

Loading the map

Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 2 records
February: 7 records
March: 7 records
April: 24 records
May: 162 records
June: 112 records
July: 63 records
August: 140 records
September: 62 records
October: 30 records
November: 8 records
December: 3 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 18–76 m · Deepest record: 448 m

0–10 m: 9 records
10–20 m: 38 records
20–30 m: 121 records
30–40 m: 99 records
40–50 m: 17 records
50–60 m: 17 records
60–70 m: 21 records
70–80 m: 23 records
80–90 m: 13 records
90–100 m: 0 records
100–110 m: 3 records
110+ m: 12 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 7–29 °C

6–8 °C: 6 records
8–10 °C: 12 records
10–12 °C: 444 records
12–14 °C: 84 records
14–16 °C: 32 records
16–18 °C: 10 records
18–20 °C: 0 records
20–22 °C: 45 records
22–24 °C: 0 records
24–26 °C: 3 records
26–28 °C: 0 records
28–30 °C: 1 records

Photos

Names and classification

English: Yellow-fingered horny sponge, yellow-fingered horny sponge

Names in 1 more languages

French: éponge noircissante

Other scientific names: Dendoryx (Iophon) nigricans, Esperia nigricans, Halichondria expansa, Halichondria nigricans, Halichondria pattersoni, Halichondria pulchella, Halichondria scandens, Iophon pattersoni, Iophon scandens, Iophonopsis nigricans, Iophonopsis pattersoni, Menyllus nigricans

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.
Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
682 open-data records from 1876 to 2023.
Species data updated November 3, 2026.

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