The distribution of members of the Class Sclerospongiae

Abstract

Data on the distribution of sclerosponges from Grand Bahama Island and the Florida Reef Tract is presented. Ceratoporella nicholsoni was found living on the deep fore reef at 70 m and at 20 m inside a tunnel at Grand Bahama. A specimen of Hispedopetra miniana was collected with C. nicholsoni at 70 m. The distribution of sclerosponges may be limited by temperature. In the Florida Keys, surface temperatures reach 18.degree. C during the winter months, and sclerosponges are apparently absent from the reefs. An alternative explanation for absence of sclerosponges from the Florida Reef Tract may be the absence of larvae to colonize the reef tract, since the water on the western side of the Florida Current originates in the Gulf of Mexico.