A pale, cylindrical crown sponge ends in a ring of fine spicules.

Crown Sponge (Sycon ciliatum) — A pale, cylindrical crown sponge ends in a ring of fine spicules.

Creator: Olivier Dugornay, Eponge petit œuf (Sycon ciliatum) (Ifremer 00560-67179).jpg, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Licence: CC BY 4.0 International

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Species record

Crown Sponge

Sycon ciliatum

Explore the Crown Sponge (Sycon ciliatum) species record in The Ark Is Earth, including classification, habitat, distribution, conservation information, and sources.

Summary

Sycon ciliatum is a small, vase-shaped sponge found around Britain and Ireland and from Arctic waters south to the Mediterranean. It attaches beneath shore overhangs and to rocks, shells, and seaweeds on the lower shore and in shallow sublittoral waters. Its large opening is ringed by a crown of stiff spines.

Classification in this archive

  1. Kingdom: Animals
  2. Phylum: Sponges
  3. Class: Calcareous sponges
  4. Order: Leucosolenida
  5. Family: Sycettidae
  6. Genus: Sycon

Habitat and distribution

Selected documented locations — not a complete species range.

Habitat
shore overhangs, lower-shore rocks and shells, kelp and other seaweeds, shallow sublittoral
Selected regions
Europe

Conservation status

Conservation status not recorded.

Did you know?

  • A crown of stiff spines circles the sponge's single large opening.

More images

A small, pale crown sponge with a cup-shaped body is attached underwater.

Crown Sponge (Sycon ciliatum) — A small, pale crown sponge with a cup-shaped body is attached underwater.

Creator: Julien Renoult, Sycon ciliatum 27364996.jpg, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Licence: CC BY 4.0 International

View image source

Sources and attribution