Form: Moderately thin sheets, with a rounded rugose surfce, typically ca. 5mm thick.

Colour: Bright orange-red or ochre yellow.

Smell: None?

Consistency: Fairly firm, holds together well when collected, but somewhat crumbly and easily torn.

Surface: Fairly smooth in appearance, with moderate friction; tuberculate, uneven. N.B. Lévi (1960) describes it as "finely hispid".

Apertures:

• Oscules are inconspicuous.

Contraction:

• Slight - difficult to determine.

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Internal characters

Skeleton: The main skeletal feature is fairly regular, isotropic and dense reticulation of acanthostrongyles, with acanthostyles also present, the latter often in 'upright' positions. There are also a few larger styles, associated with ascending fibres and penetrating the surface (sometimes quasi-echinating the fibres). Slim subtylostyles form brushes at the surface. Very variable quantities of spongin reinforce the spicule fibres.

Spicules: The megascleres include acanthostrongyles 80-100 μm; acanthostyles of 110-190 μm, the larger being very lightly spined at the head only; styles of ca. 300-400 μm. The subtylostyles measure ca. 200-250 x 2-4 μm. The microscleres are palmate isochelae, ca. 11-15 μm and toxa which predominantly fall into two size groups: 30-60 μm (relatively fine) and 130-180 μm (more sturdy). The larger toxa may have spined points.

Identity: In appearance this species is quite similar to many other of the troublesome 'red crust' Clathriids (especially Antho involvens), but a bright orange red surface with a bumpy appearance is fairly recognisable. The spicule complement, with a predominance of acanthostrongyles, is distinctive (see note for Antho involvens).

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

iNaturalist: Antho coriacea at iNaturalist World Species Observations database.

WoRMS: Antho coriacea at World Register of Marine Species. Accepted name: Antho (Acarnia) coriacea (Bowerbank, 1874). AphiaID: 167852.

Classification: Biota; Animalia; Porifera; Demospongiae; Heteroscleromorpha; Poecilosclerida; Microcionidae; Ophlitaspongiinae; Antho

Voucher: BELUM : Mc890. Saltee Islands, Wexford.

Editors: D. Moss, B.E. Picton.