Ophlitaspongia papilla

Other invertebrates
IUCN: Not evaluated

Usual depth0–10 m
Water temperature10–26 °C
Best monthsJuly, August, and September
How commonOccasional

Photo credit: (c) Steven Farquhar, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

About this species

Ophlitaspongia papilla is a species of demosponge belonging to the family Microcionidae. It is found along north-eastern Atlantic coastlines. This is a red sponge which forms thin, smooth encrusting patches, up to 5 cm across, with regularly spaced oscula.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Ophlitaspongia papilla”, 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: 33 records
February: 14 records
March: 32 records
April: 61 records
May: 60 records
June: 70 records
July: 72 records
August: 106 records
September: 100 records
October: 58 records
November: 10 records
December: 7 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 0–10 m · Deepest record: 19.9 m

0–10 m: 70 records
10–20 m: 9 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 10–26 °C

8–10 °C: 1 records
10–12 °C: 233 records
12–14 °C: 278 records
14–16 °C: 0 records
16–18 °C: 1 records
18–20 °C: 0 records
20–22 °C: 0 records
22–24 °C: 0 records
24–26 °C: 3 records

Photos

(c) Bernard Picton, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
(c) Julien Renoult, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Lou Wagstaffe, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Steven Farquhar, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Jack Alcorn, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist

Names and classification

Names in 1 more languages

French: Éponge-coussinet rouge sang

Other scientific names: Chalina seriata, Chalinula seriata, Clathria seriata, Halichondria seriata, Ophlitaspongia seriata

Similar species

Red Beard Sponge
Clathria (Clathria) prolifera
Clathria (Thalysias) vulpina
Artemisina melana
Echinoclathria leporina
Holopsamma favus
Cream honeycomb sponge
Holopsamma laminaefavosa

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).
875 open-data records from 1899 to 2023.
Species data updated November 5, 2026.

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