Velvety Red Sponge

Common Name: Velvety Red Sponge

Author: Grace Gong

Scientific Name: Ophlitaspongia pennata

The Velvety Red Sponge is distributed along the pacific coast (from British Columbia to California). It is often found in small crevices, under large rocks, and on the undersurfaces of seaweed in intertidal zone, where they are shaded from sunlight.

The Velvety Red Sponge usually feeds on small marine organisms (for example shrimp and crab larvae), some bacteria, and small particles of dissolved organic matter by using filtering. Its predators are nudibranchs, snails , and sea stars.

There are 10 different intertidal species with the common name of Velvety Red Sponge worldwide.  Their smooth, tough surface are scattered with small hole that are up to 2mm in diameter, and all of them are characterized by their distinctive color, which can range from bright red to a dull orange-red depending on the species.