Barrel sponge (Xestospongia testudinaria), one of the largest sponges on coral reefs, and diver. Cannot be differentiated on any morphological basis,

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Barrel sponge (Xestospongia testudinaria), one of the largest sponges on coral reefs, and diver. Cannot be differentiated on any morphological basis, eg spicules, growth form, etc. from the well-known Caribbean barrel sponge Xestospongia muta, but the two sponges have chemical differences indicating they may be separate species. Walindi Plantation Resort, Kimbe Bay, New Britain, Papua New Guinea

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Size: 3560px × 5527px
Photo credit: © Mark Spencer/AUSCAPE / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: animal, animals, auscape, australian, barrel, barrier, demospongiae, divers, diving, fauna, giant, great, haplosclerida, huge, indo-west, intertidal, invertebrate, large, life, marine, mark, pacific, petrosiidae, reef, scuba, scubadivers, scubadiving, sea, size, spencer, sponge, sponges, underwater, wildlife, xestospongia