Rhabdastrella globostellata

Rhabdastrella globostellata

"Rhabdastrella globostellata" is a marine sponge of the order Astrophorida. It is native to many regions of the Indian Ocean including the shores of Madagascar, the Seychelles, and Australia as well as the Malayan Peninsula and Singapore.
Sea Sponge - Rhabdastrella globostellata  Mabul,Malaysia,Rhabdastrella globostellata,Sabah,Sea Sponge

Appearance

"R. globostellata" has been shown to produce a wide variety of isomalabaricanes, a type of triterpene molecules with notable cytotoxic activity towards certain cancer cell lines.

Naming

It was first described by Henry J. Carter as "Stelleta globostellata" in 1883, named after the "globostellate" shape of its spicules.

References:

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Taxonomy
KingdomAnimalia
DivisionPorifera
ClassDemospongiae
OrderTetractinellida
FamilyAncorinidae
GenusRhabdastrella
SpeciesR. globostellata
Photographed in
Malaysia