This month the Rockpool Project is focussing on some of our coastline’s most ancient inhabitants- the sea sponges. The sponge group is called Porifera in taxonomy, and there are fossil records going back 608 million years to the earliest period of Earth’s history, the Precambrian.They were the first multicelluar (lots of cells joined together in a single organism) animals to evolve, and are one of the earliest branches in the animal evolutionary tree.

They are simple, filter-feeding animals, lacking true tissues and organs. Instead, they have specialised cells to perform different functions.They do however, possess many genes also found in more complex animals for cell adhesion, signalling and development. So, while they aren’t direct relatives or you or me, the presence of a genetic toolkit for building complex bodies within them, highlights their high evolutionary significance.

The last common ancestor of all other animals and sponges is not truly known, but is expected to be possess a simple body plan with some of the basic genetic machinery found in sponges and more complex animals.

This report will take you through an overview of all 185 of sponge that have been found at rockpooling depths along the UK coast, starting with the most common species recorded on iNaturalist and on the National Biodiversity Network (NBN), and getting rarer the further down the table you get. While you can get freshwater river and lake sponges, these are only the coastal marine species.

All photos are clickable to view photo ownership.

Photo Common Name Latin Name Number of Observations
crumb-of-bread sponge Hymeniacidon perlevis 355
Bread-crumb Sponge Halichondria panicea 194
Sulphur Boring Sponge Cliona celata 36
Small Calcareous Cup Sycon ciliatum 32
Mermaid’s Glove Haliclona oculata 31
Goosebump Sponge Dysidea fragilis 30
Orange Puffball Sponge Tethya citrina 29
purse sponge Grantia compressa 27
North Atlantic Cup Sponge Axinella infundibuliformis 25
Elephant’s Hide Sponge Pachymatisma johnstonia 24
NA Terpios gelatinosus 22
NA Dercitus bucklandi 20
Shredded carrot sponge Amphilectus fucorum 18
NA Haliclona viscosa 16
NA Polymastia boletiformis 15
Yellow Staghorn Sponge Axinella dissimilis 14
NA Lissodendoryx jenjonesae 14
Crumpled Duster Sponge Axinella damicornis 12
NA Ophlitaspongia papilla 12
NA Spongionella pulchella 11
NA Haliclona urceolus 10
NA Polymastia penicillus 10
NA Axinella parva 10
NA Hymedesmia rathlinia 10
NA Stelligera stuposa 9
Pale Orange Crater Sponge Hemimycale columella 8
Yellow Gelatine Sponge Halisarca dujardinii 8
NA Clathrina lacunosa 8
Sulphur Sponge Aplysilla sulfurea 7
fig sponge Suberites ficus 7
NA Raspailia ramosa 7
White Lace Calcareous Sponge Clathrina coriacea 6
Encrusting rose sponge Aplysilla rosea 6
NA Leuconia nivea 6
NA Spongosorites calcicola 6
NA Myxilla fimbriata 5
NA Sphaerotylus renoufi 5
NA Hymerhabdia typica 5
NA Myxilla incrustans 4
NA Suberites carnosus 4
NA Raspailia hispida 4
NA Oscarella nicolae 4
NA Paratimea loennbergi 4
NA Hymeniacidon simplicima 4
NA Halichondria bowerbanki 3
Clustered Leucosolenia Leucosolenia botryoides 3
NA Hymedesmia paupertas 3
Brush Sponge Ciocalypta penicillus 3
Calcareous Tube Sponge Leucosolenia complicata 3
NA Haliclona angulata 3
NA Crella plana 3
NA Paratimea aurantiaca 3
NA Hymedesmia jecusculum 3
NA Haliclona cinerea 2
NA Hymeraphia stellifera 2
NA Iophon nigricans 2
NA Hymeraphia breeni 2
NA Hexadella topsenti 2
NA Axinella pyramidata 2
NA Phorbas punctatus 2
NA Hymedesmia pansa 2
Golf Ball Sponge Tethya aurantium 1
NA Clathrina clathrus 1
Flesh Sponge Oscarella lobularis 1
NA Phakellia ventilabrum 1
NA Iophon hyndmani 1
NA Mycale macilenta 1
NA Chelonaplysilla noevus 1
NA Sycon raphanus 1
NA Lycopodina hypogea 1
NA Stelletta grubii 1
NA Haliclona indistincta 1
NA Haliclona xena 1
NA Raspaciona aculeata 1
NA Suberites pagurorum 1
NA Hymedesmia stellifera 1
NA Clathria spinarcus 1
NA Ulosa digitata 1