Kauaʻi record · KCA-WOI-00002
Chondrosia chucalla
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About Chondrosia chucalla
Chondrosia chucalla is a dark, fleshy sponge recorded in Hawaiian marine communities. Hawaiian feeding research describes small black-brown material that can resemble the green alga Codium arabicum when encountered in mixed samples. That resemblance is a reminder that these simple-looking animals are not reliably identified by a quick glance. A specimen-level determination needs appropriate anatomical evidence, and neither a dark patch on a reef nor a matching photograph alone establishes this species.
The Kauaʻi evidence comes from a historical source record dated 1991, retained as “Chondrosia chucalla” in Appendix A printed p. 67 of the cited survey. This preserves evidence of the reported occurrence; it does not establish present-day distribution or abundance.
Names and classification
- Scientific name
- Chondrosia chucalla
- Family
- Chondrosiidae
- Order
- Chondrosiida
- Record type
- species
Kauaʻi occurrence and status
- Kauaʻi occurrence
- Historical source record (1991); current presence not reassessed
- Origin
- Origin not yet resolved
- Conservation status
- Not assessed
Process and seasonal context
- Seasonal description
- Chondrosia chucalla is a dark, fleshy sponge recorded in Hawaiian marine communities. Historically reported from Kauaʻi (1991).
Sources and further reading
- Coles, S.L., P.R. Reath, K. Longenecker, H. Bolick & L.G. Eldredge. 2004. Assessment of nonindigenous marine species in harbors and on nearby coral reefs on Kauaʻi, Molokaʻi, Maui, and Hawaiʻi. Bishop Museum Technical Report 29a. — Appendix A printed p. 67
- Russell, Hargrove & Balazs (2011) — Marine sponges and other items in Hawaiian turtle digestive tracts
- Recovery taxonomy reconciliation — World Porifera Database
- Public reference photographs — Marine Life Photography (copyright retained by photographer; linked only)