📸 PhotoPhoto: Bengt Littorin ( Havspappan ) · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons Source
Breadcrumb sponge
Halichondria panicea (Breadcrumb sponge · ナミイソカイメン)
Not Evaluated (NE) on the IUCN Red List yet.
💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed
- 💡 Its width of 60 cm is about twice the long side of an A4 sheet of paper (29.7 cm).
- 💡 It is a sponge that joins fouling communities growing attached to raft frames in aquaculture farms (SeaLifeBase).
Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.
📖 1. Overview
The breadcrumb sponge is a sponge widely distributed in cold seas including the North Pacific, North Atlantic, Arctic, and Antarctic. It is also listed in the National List of Species of Korea.
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
It is a sessile sponge that grows attached to rocks and spreads up to 60 cm wide. Sponges in this group are hermaphroditic, and their eggs develop into swimming larvae before settling on the bottom.
🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior
It filter-feeds on tiny suspended particles in the water such as free bacteria and colloidal organic matter. It is also part of the fouling communities that grow attached to mariculture raft frames.
🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea
It is listed in the National List of Species of Korea.
📚 Sources & References
- • IUCN Red List: not evaluated (NE) — cross-checked with the Wikidata conservation-status entry
- • marinespecies.org — aphia.php
- • 국가생물종목록(국립생물자원관) ktsn 120000150500 — https://species.nibr.go.kr/home/mainHome.do?cont_link=009&subMenu=009002&contCd=009002&ktsn=120000150500
- • wikidata.org — Q990870
- • commons.wikimedia.org — File:Halichondria panicea on boulder.jpg
- • sealifebase.se — Halichondria-panicea.html
Recorded dimensions are widely cited representative estimates from public literature and may vary by study or specimen.