Form: A thin crust (to 2mm thickness) forming discrete rounded patches on rock surfaces.

Colour: Pale orange-pink, yellow, ochre.

Smell: None. Slime: Considerable quantities of slime are released from the sponge on removal from water.

Consistency: Tough, fibrous.

Surface: Conulose with tissue supported on bundles of long spicules which lie at an angle to the surface, facing the same direction and giving a swept appearance.

Apertures:

• Oscules are small and inconspicuous, not raised above the surface.

Contraction:

• None noticeable, but collected specimens have a tendency to curl.

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Synonyms: Crella inflata (Bowerbank) of Arndt, 1935.

Internal characters

Skeleton: A basal layer of large scattered tylostyles lie at an angle to the substratum with their swollen heads lying in contact with the substratum. Long thin centrotylote oxea form dense bundles which ascend at an angle through the sponge to the surface. The entire sponge is filled with a dense mass of small acanthoxea.

Spicules: The large tylostyles (c) measure up to 2mm but are normally broken during preparation. The centrotylote oxea (b) form dense bundles. Acanthoxea (a) have a characteristic sharp bend in the middle of their length.

Identity: The external appearance of the surface combined with the colour makes tentative field identification possible. The spicule compliment is unusual and characteristic.

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

iNaturalist: Halicnemia gallica at iNaturalist World Species Observations database.

WoRMS: Halicnemia gallica at World Register of Marine Species. Accepted name: Halicnemia gallica (Topsent, 1893). AphiaID: 236374.

Classification: Biota; Animalia; Porifera; Demospongiae; Heteroscleromorpha; Axinellida; Stelligeridae; Halicnemia

Voucher: BELUM: Mc1598. Lough Hyne, Co Cork.

Editors: B. E. Picton.