Classification:
Phylum: Porifera
Class: Demospongiae
Scientific Name: Chalina
Common Name: Finger Sponge
Class: Demospongiae
Scientific Name: Chalina
Common Name: Finger Sponge
General Characteristics:
The finger sponge is a branching, soft bodied sponge that is red-brown or yellow-brown in coloration. It can grow up to cm high. Branches of the sponge are somewhat flattened and perforated to allow water to filter in and out the organism. It is filter feeding organism that lives a sedentary life-style attached to the sea floor. Reproduction is sexual or asexual depending on the environmental conditions.
Habitat:
The finger sponge can be found all over the North Atlantic to the southern limits along the Atlantic coast of Portugal. They live in the shallow subtidal and intertidal zones.
Importance to Humans:
The finger sponge has no known importance to humans.
Sources:
"Sponges of the NE Atlantic". Marine Species Identification Portal. Retrieved from: http://species-identification.org/species.php?species_group=sponges&id=251.