Niphates erecta Duchassaing & Michelotti, 1864

Fig. 27

Diagnostic features.

Single erect branch to multiple branches or arborescent. Pink to gray in color. The surface is porous, microhispid, and rough to the touch. Many oscula dispersed along the branch with a slight elevation compared to the surface. Many oscula had a barnacle inside. The sponge is firm, slightly compressible.

Similar species.

Niphates amorpha with erect branches and Niphates erecta can be confused. The possible conspecificity of these two forms remains to be clarified.

Distribution and abundance.

Very common species throughout the Caribbean, Bermuda, Florida, and Brazil at shallow (<50 m) and mesophotic depths (50-100 m). At FGBNMS the species is reported with rare to high abundance (1-100+) at seven localities.

Ecology.

Coralline algae reef, algal nodule, lower mesophotic reef.

Identification.

KR, SK, CA, MCD.

References.

van Soest 1980. Pomponi et al. 2019.