Description: Usually pale beige, yellow or green in colour and usually massive in form, lamellate or with very flattened branches; irregular lamellae with conulate projections. Grows up to 20 cm high and across the base. Oscules are at the edges and on the faces of the lamellae, on conulate projections at regular intervals. Excurrent channels converging on the oscules are obvious. Pores are conspicuous and distributed fairly uniformly over the surface.

Habitat: Circalittoral, on Lophelia, rock, stones, etc. to depths in excess of 100 m, usually below 40 m.

Distribution: Arctic, southwards to west coasts of Ireland and France. Scarce within diving range, but recently rcorded from Rockall; Insh Is., Firth of Lorne; Loch Sunart, Sound of Mull; and Rathlin Is., and the Maidens, N. Ireland.

Similar Species: The spiculation of this species is very variable, and any of the categories toxa, acanthostyles, isochelae or acanthostyles and isochelae, may be absent or rare in a given specimen. This has in the past caused specimens to be assigned to a variety of species, genera and families. See full description for details on spicules and skeleton.

Key Identification Features:

• Pale beige, yellow or green.
• Massive or with very flattened branches.
• Pores conspicuous.
• Excurrent channels converging on oscules obvious.

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

iNaturalist: Clathria barleei at iNaturalist World Species Observations database.

GBIF data for Clathria (Clathria) barleei

WoRMS: Clathria barleei at World Register of Marine Species. Accepted name: Clathria (Clathria) barleei (Bowerbank, 1866). AphiaID: 167498.

Classification: Biota; Animalia; Porifera; Demospongiae; Heteroscleromorpha; Poecilosclerida; Microcionidae; Microcioninae; Clathria