Chondrilla nucula, sometimes called the Caribbean chicken-liver sponge, is a species of sea sponge belonging to the family Chondrillidae.
| Chondrilla nucula | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Porifera |
| Class: | Demospongiae |
| Family: | Chondrillidae |
| Genus: | Chondrilla |
| Species: | C. nucula
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| Binomial name | |
| Chondrilla nucula Schmidt, 1862
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| Synonyms | |
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It is an amorphous shaped sponge that grows in flat, sometimes bulbous sheets in benthic communities. It is sometimes found in marginal, stressful systems such as caves. Such sponges are white, lacking access to sunlight, and photosymbionts. It is known to be preyed upon by the hawksbill turtle, Eretmochelys imbricata.[1]
The chondrilla nucula species has experienced changes and differences in its morphology over the course of its life, but it is still the same species with similar morphotypes despite these changes and differences.
This sponge has been found to contain strains of bacteria that contained antimicrobial properties. These properties have been shown to inhibit certain bacteria which are harmful to human including Staphylococcus aureus.[2]
References
edit- ^ Meylan, Anne (1988-01-12). "Spongivory in Hawksbill Turtles: A Diet of Glass". Science. 239 (4838). American Association for the Advancement of Science: 393–395. Bibcode:1988Sci...239..393M. doi:10.1126/science.239.4838.393. JSTOR 1700236. PMID 17836872. S2CID 22971831.
- ^ Chelossi, Elizabetta (2007). "Bacteria with Antimicrobial Properties Isolated from the Mediterranean Sponges Chondrilla Nucula and Petrosia Ficiformis". Aquatic Microbial Ecology. 49 (2): 157–163. doi:10.3354/ame01134.
- Duran, Sandra; Rützler, Klaus (2006-07-01). "Ecological speciation in a Caribbean marine sponge". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 40 (1): 292–297. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2006.02.018. ISSN 1055-7903.
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