---
title: "What the sources say about the Giant Barrel Sponge | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "44 claims from the Giant Barrel Sponge profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
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# What the sources say about the Giant Barrel Sponge (*Xestospongia muta*)

> 44 claims from the Giant Barrel Sponge profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [Giant Barrel Sponge](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/giant-barrel-sponge/)

## Xestospongia muta (giant barrel sponge). Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.

https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Xestospongia_muta/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| a pump-feeding barrel that may top a meter | they may reach great sizes, over 1 m tall (note: tagline; hedge "may" from the quote.) |
| The "redwood of the reef" | called “redwoods of the reef” by some (note: tagline) |
| Tropical Atlantic coral reefs, from Florida and the Caribbean to Central America and Venezuela | found in tropical areas of the Atlantic Ocean. They are found in highest concentrations in coral reefs off the coasts of Florida, in the Gulf of Florida, off the coast of Central America, and the Caribbean, including around the Bahamas and Greater Antilles. They are found as far south as Venezuela. (note: stats.habitat) |
| Bacteria-sized food particles filtered from seawater | Choanocytes lining the inner chambers of the sponge filter out bacteria-sized food particles. (note: stats.diet) |
| Can filter up to 50,000 times its own volume of seawater every day | An individual may filter up to 50,000 times its own volume of water every day. (note: stats.superpower) |
| Not Evaluated | giant barrel sponges have not been evaluated by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (note: stats.conservationStatus. GBIF's Red List copy holds no category for Xestospongia muta and the prefetch found no assessment DOI, so no IUCN reference is cited. Precedent great-scallop, moon-jellyfish.) |
| The IUCN Red List has not evaluated it. | giant barrel sponges have not been evaluated by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (note: Same as stats line.) |
| Some people call the giant barrel sponge the "redwood of the reef" | called “redwoods of the reef” by some |
| It may grow over 1 meter (about 3 feet) tall | they may reach great sizes, over 1 m tall (note: 3 feet from 1 m) |
| with a mass that exceeds most other benthic invertebrates | with masses that exceed most other benthic invertebrates |
| That is science-speak for animals without backbones that live on the sea floor. | Referring to an animal that lives on or near the bottom of a body of water. (note: Definition: ADW glossary for 'benthic' (bottom of a body of water). 'Invertebrates' as animals without backbones is the standard meaning and needs no figure.) |
| Its age is estimated with growth models | recent research using the Tanaka indeterminate growth model to estimate the age of several individuals (note: Method only, no figure.) |
| A sponge is an animal with no nervous system | Sponges have no nervous system and there are no known direct communication methods between individuals. |
| a giant barrel sponge stays in one spot | Sponges are sessile animals. |
| It feeds by pumping seawater through its body. | Flagellated choanocytes line the inner chamber and help generate water currents through the sponge. They also filter out food particles |
| Water enters through tiny pores | Water is taken into the inner chamber of the sponge (known as the spongocoel) through ostia (small pores created by porocytes). |
| chambers lined with cells called choanocytes, which have whip-like tails that help drive the water and filter out food | Flagellated choanocytes line the inner chamber and help generate water currents through the sponge. They also filter out food particles (note: 'whip-like tails' glosses 'flagellated' (flagellum = whip-like tail); no extra detail.) |
| Then it leaves through a hole at the top called the osculum. | Water exits the sponge through the osculum, a hole at the top of the spongocoel. |
| One sponge may filter up to 50,000 times its own volume of water every day | An individual may filter up to 50,000 times its own volume of water every day. |
| catching food particles about the size of bacteria | Choanocytes lining the inner chambers of the sponge filter out bacteria-sized food particles. |
| Its color, anywhere from salmon pink to purple, comes from cyanobacteria that live inside it as symbionts, meaning partners. | These sponges range in color from salmon pink to purple due to the presence of cyanobacteria symbionts (note: "symbionts, meaning partners" is a gloss of the term.) |
| Stuck in one spot | Sponges are sessile animals. |
| the sponge protects itself from fish mainly with chemical defenses. | These animals primarily protect themselves from fish predation by chemical defenses |
| In the Florida Keys it is also defended with spicules, microscopic glass-like rods. | In the Florida Keys, giant barrel sponges are synergistically defended with microscopic glass-like rods called spicules. |
| Giant barrel sponges spawn together: neighbors release eggs and sperm in one synchronized event. | Reproduction occurs during a synchronized spawning event in which a group of localized individuals release sperm and eggs. |
| In one study, spawning came on the ninth night after a full moon. | one study noted giant barrel sponges spawning during the ninth night following a full moon. |
| In one event that was observed, eggs and sperm were released for about an hour. | In one observed spawning event, eggs and sperm were released for approximately an hour. |
| The sponges live on tropical Atlantic reefs, with the highest concentrations off Florida, Central America and the Caribbean. | found in tropical areas of the Atlantic Ocean. They are found in highest concentrations in coral reefs off the coasts of Florida, in the Gulf of Florida, off the coast of Central America, and the Caribbean |
| Animal Diversity Web gives a depth range of 10 to 30 meters (about 33 to 98 feet), on tropical coral reefs. | living at depths from 10-30 m (note: FAQ; page gives 32.81 to 98.43 ft) |
| Its known predators are fishes, turtles, nudibranchs (sea slugs) and echinoids, a group that includes sea urchins. | The predators of giant barrel sponges are fishes, turtles, nudibranchs, and echinoids. (note: Glosses: nudibranch = sea slug; echinoids include sea urchins (standard taxonomy; ADW lists 'Echinoderms' under known predators).) |
| Redwoods live a long time, and so does this sponge. | they are also extremely long lived |
| Armor for an animal that cannot run | Sponges are sessile animals. |
| Timed by the moon | one study noted giant barrel sponges spawning during the ninth night following a full moon. |
| A giant barrel sponge stays in one spot and may filter up to 50,000 times its own volume of water every day. | An individual may filter up to 50,000 times its own volume of water every day. (note: vibe.reason; restates body claims (this quote, plus the body claims for the rest of the sentence)) |

## Fiore, Baker & Lesser (2013). Nitrogen Biogeochemistry in the Caribbean Sponge, Xestospongia muta: A Source or Sink of Dissolved Inorganic Nitrogen? PLoS ONE.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0072961

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| the masses calculated for the sponges ran from 7.4 to 68.2 kilograms (about 16 to 150 pounds) | FL 33 111 68.2 21938 ... LC 5 12 7.4 2649 (note: Table 1, Mass (kg) column of 18 sponges: highest 68.2 (FL), lowest 7.4 (LC); 16 and 150 lb from 7.4 and 68.2 kg. Masses are calculated from volume and density, not weighed.) |
| masses calculated | The mass (kg) of individual sponges was then calculated by multiplying the individual total sponge volume (l), obtained as described above, by the average density of X. muta sponges (0.617 g cm −3 ) (note: Basis of the calculated masses.) |

## Dunlap & Pawlik (1998). Spongivory by Parrotfish in Florida Mangrove and Reef Habitats. Marine Ecology.

https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-0485.1998.tb00471.x

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Across 10 hours of video, parrotfish took 45 bites from normally colored giant barrel sponges and 527 bites from four bleached ones. | A total of 10 h of video recording captured 45 bites on normally coloured X. muta and 527 bites on four bleached X. muta by the parrotfish |
| Bleached and bitten | 527 bites on four bleached X. muta |

## McMurray, Henkel & Pawlik (2010). Demographics of increasing populations of the giant barrel sponge Xestospongia muta in the Florida Keys. Ecology.

https://doi.org/10.1890/08-2060.1

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| On Conch Reef off Key Largo, Florida, densities in 2006 ranged from 0.134 to 0.277 sponges per square meter | In 2006, densities of X. muta on Conch Reef ranged from 0.134 to 0.277 sponges/m2 |

## McMurray et al. (2011). Bleaching of the giant barrel sponge Xestospongia muta in the Florida Keys. Limnology and Oceanography.

https://doi.org/10.4319/lo.2011.56.6.2243

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| a 2011 study called it the dominant habitat-forming organism on many Caribbean coral reefs | is now the dominant habitat‐forming organism on many Caribbean coral reefs (note: Attributed to its year rather than stated as a current state.) |
| Not in a six-year survey on Conch Reef off Key Largo, Florida: the researchers found that bleaching did not result in sponge mortality. | We examined bleaching of X. muta at 15‐m, 20‐m, and 30‐m depths over 2000–2005 on Conch Reef, Key Largo, Florida, ... Bleaching of X. muta did not result in sponge mortality (note: Survey covered 2000-2005 at 15, 20 and 30 m on Conch Reef, Key Largo.) |

## McGrath et al. (2018). Growth and longevity in giant barrel sponges: Redwoods of the reef or Pines in the Indo-Pacific? Scientific Reports.

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-33294-1

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| studies suggest it may live for thousands of years | Studies of Caribbean X. muta suggest they may be up to 1000 s of years old (note: tagline. ADW (c. 2013) gave more than 2000 years from one growth model; dropped under the date rule, because the 2018 paper only says "may be up to 1000s of years" and stresses extrapolation error. The paper's own results are Indo-Pacific Xestospongia spp., not used.) |
| studies of Caribbean giant barrel sponges suggest they may be thousands of years old | Studies of Caribbean X. muta suggest they may be up to 1000 s of years old (note: Replaces the ADW 2000-year figure (date rule). X. muta only.) |
| Those estimates carry error, which is expected to grow with the size of the sponge. | error is expected to increase with the extrapolation of large sponge age (note: Also: "caution should be taken ... due to the inherent error associated with X. muta age extrapolation".) |