Biodiversity & Conservation

A sponge - Sycon ciliatum

Sycon ciliatum

Image Robert Keen - Sycon ciliatum in Lyme Bay, Devon.
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Distribution map

Sycon ciliatum recorded (dark blue bullet) and expected (light blue bullet) distribution in Britain and Ireland (see below)

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Sycon ciliatum is not listed under any importance categories.

Taxonomy icon Taxonomy Taxon English term
Phylum Porifera Sponges
Class Calcarea
Authority (Fabricius, 1780)
Recent synonyms Scypha ciliata (Burton, 1963)
Map icon Recorded Distribution in Britain and Ireland Found all around Britain and Ireland.
Habitat information icon Habitat information Sycon ciliatum is mainly found on the shore under overhangs or attached to rocks and shells on the lower shore. It is common in the shallow sublittoral and present in deeper water to 100 m depth. It also grows on seaweeds e.g. kelp, fucoids or small red algae.
Text page icon Description Sycon ciliatum is tubular or vase shaped and creamish yellow to greyish white in colour. It can be up to 5 cm tall and 7.5 mm wide. The body of the vase has a rough or furry appearance. Occasionally it may be smooth and in this form, it is difficult to distinguish from Grantia compressa. A single large osculum is surrounded by a crown or fringe of stiff spines. The vase may appear to be attached by a slender stalk.
Identifying features
  • Tubular, single or in clusters up to 5 cm tall and 7.5 mm wide.
  • Grey, off-white or brown in colour.
  • Usually finely papillate and hairy.
  • One large terminal osculum fringed with a crown of spicules.
  • Several individuals are usually found growing close to each other.
Additional information icon Additional information Sycon ciliatum was also known as Scypha ciliata. Sycon ciliatum is an annual species. Reproduction takes place between July and August (van Soest et al., 2000).

This review can be cited as follows:

Judith Oakley 2008. Sycon ciliatum. A sponge. Marine Life Information Network: Biology and Sensitivity Key Information Sub-programme [on-line]. Plymouth: Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. [cited 22/05/2012]. Available from: <http://www.marlin.ac.uk/speciesinformation.php?speciesID=4410>