Purse Sponge
The purse sponge (Grantia compressa) is a small, flattened, purse-shaped calcareous sponge of rocky shores of the North Atlantic. It hangs from rocks and seaweed and has a single opening at the top.
The purse sponge (Grantia compressa) is a small, flattened, purse-shaped calcareous sponge of rocky shores of the North Atlantic. It hangs from rocks and seaweed and has a single opening at the top.
🧬 Field Guide Specimen: Open Purse Sponge in the CRV Science Field Guide to log the specimen, see its place among the Metazoa lineages in the Cladogram Explorer, and test your recall in the Red List conservation game.
Calcareous Spicules and a Single Opening
The sponge's skeleton is made of tiny spicules of calcium carbonate. Water enters through many small pores in the wall, passes through radial canals lined with collar cells and leaves through the one large opening, a design called syconoid.
An Intertidal Specialist
Purse sponges live in tide pools and under overhangs, where they are exposed to air between tides. Their small size and compact form help them avoid drying out.
Study Subject
Calcareous sponges are an ancient group, and Grantia has been used in studies of sponge structure and development. See Sycon Sponge.
Purse Sponge at a Glance
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Scientific name | Grantia compressa |
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Porifera |
| Class | Calcarea |
| Order | Leucosolenida |
| Family | Grantiidae |
| Field Guide group | Porifera: Sponges (Basal Metazoans) |
| Diagnostic feature (Field Guide) | Small flattened, purse-shaped cream sponge hanging from rocks and seaweed, with a single osculum at its free end. |
| Class | Calcarea |
| Body plan | Syconoid |