Form: Thin sheets to cushions, forming patches from a few cms to 20-25cm across.

Colour: Greenish brown, pinkish white.

Consistency: Softly friable.

Surface: Strongly punctate, slightly irregular and shaggy, with clearly visible exhalent canals converging on the oscules.

Apertures:

• Oscules are few, irregularly scattered, not or only slightly elevated; circular 1.5-3mm diameter.

Contraction:

• Not noticeable.

Synonyms: The generic names Isodictya, Reniera and Adocia have all been used for this species.

Internal characters

Skeleton: There is no ectosome. The choanosomal skeleton is a close meshed isotropic reticulation, with multispicular (ca. 3-9 spicules wide) primary and unispicular secondary tracts. Other spicules are randomly scattered. There is very little spongin, confined to the nodes.

Spicules: Megascleres are rather slender, fusiform oxea, 110-150 x 3-7.5 μm. Microscleres are absent.

Identity: A renieroid skeleton without an ectosome, with multi-spicular primary bundles, in an encrusting soft shore sponge with oscular channels is diagnostic for this species. Apparently, however, its name was not given lightly!

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

iNaturalist: Haliclona indistincta at iNaturalist World Species Observations database.

WoRMS: Haliclona indistincta at World Register of Marine Species. Accepted name: Haliclona (Rhizoniera) indistincta (Bowerbank, 1866). AphiaID: 166634.

Classification: Biota; Animalia; Porifera; Demospongiae; Heteroscleromorpha; Haplosclerida; Chalinidae; Haliclona

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