Aiolochroia crassa
Taxonomy
This page represents the following TreeOfLife-200M taxonomic path.[1]
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Porifera
- Class: Demospongiae
- Order: Verongiida
- Family: Aplysinidae
- Genus: Aiolochroia
- Species: Aiolochroia crassa
Visual Description
Aiolochroia crassa, often referred to as the "blue bleeder" sponge, exhibits a characteristic branching or tubular growth form.[2] Observations of specimens in the TreeOfLife-200M dataset reveal a distinct, often rugged surface texture with visible oscula (pores) distributed along the tubular structures.[1] The sponge typically displays a yellowish to brownish coloration in its natural state, though it is known to turn a deep blue or purple when damaged or exposed to air, a trait that contributes to its common name.[2]
Ecology and Associations
Aiolochroia crassa provides essential habitat for various marine organisms. It serves as a host for commensal crustaceans of the family Alpheidae, which utilize the internal channels of the sponge for refuge.[3] Research conducted in the Parque Nacional Arrecife Puerto Morelos, Mexico, identified the snapping shrimp species Synalpheus herricki and Synalpheus pandionis, as well as Alpheus cylindricus, as inhabitants of this sponge.[3]
Gallery
References
- 1 2 Dataset view for Animalia / Porifera / Demospongiae / Verongiida / Aplysinidae / Aiolochroia / crassa constructed from imageomics/TreeOfLife-200M records under this taxonomic path. Hugging Face Datasets. https://huggingface.co/datasets/imageomics/TreeOfLife-200M.
- 1 2 Aiolochroia crassa (Hyatt, 1875). GBIF. https://www.gbif.org/species/2239256. Accessed 2026-07-09.
- 1 2 Sergio Cházaro–Olvera; Gerardo Arturo Hernández-Vidal; Manuel Ortíz; Ignacio Winfield. Primer registro de la asociación de Synalpheus herricki y S. pandionis con Aiolochroia crassa en el parque nacional arrecife Puerto Morelos, Quintana Roo, México. Revista de biología marina y oceanografía. 2017. https://doi.org/10.4067/s0718-19572017000300017.