Description: Very thin sheet, typically orange-red in colour,usually silt covered with regularly spaced red raised bumps showing through, occasionally clean with these raised bumps. Villose, due to scattered long spicules which penetrate the surface. Identification requires examination of skeletal characters.

Habitat: Mostly found in deeper water, below 30 metres, but occasionally as shallow as 20m. Tolerant of silt, and found in sheltered places on dead shells as well as on bedrock in both exposed and sheltered locations.

Distribution: United Kingdom; Ireland; France; Mediterranean." Known recently from Strangford Lough, St Kilda, Skomer, Stags of Broadhaven, Co Mayo, Lough Hyne, Co Cork.

Similar Species: Requires careful examination of skeletal characters to differentiate it from other species of Hymeraphia.

Key Identification Features:

• The short spicules with spined ends are very distinctive and are diagnostic for the genus Hymeraphia.

Distribution Map from NBN: Hymeraphia stellifera at National Biodiversity Network mapping facility, data for UK.

iNaturalist: Hymeraphia stellifera at iNaturalist World Species Observations database.

GBIF data for Hymeraphia stellifera

WoRMS: Hymeraphia stellifera at World Register of Marine Species. Accepted name: Hymeraphia stellifera Bowerbank, 1864. AphiaID: 133133.

Classification: Biota; Animalia; Porifera; Demospongiae; Heteroscleromorpha; Axinellida; Raspailiidae; Raspailiinae; Hymeraphia