Physical Description
The body of a sponge is exceptionally porous with many holes known as ostia covering the surface (Ruppert, Fox & Barnes 2004). As well as possessing many ostia the sponge also displays a large hole at the top end of the body known as the osculum (Hill & Hill 2009). Being an encrusting sponge Haliclona spp. is not as large in body shape compared to other demospongiae however this species does still displays a tubular-lobe like structure. This sponge is a distinctive pink-purple colour with a soft and cushion like body texture. The sponges collected from Shark Bay on Heron Island were between approximately 3cm to 8cm in length and 2cm to 4cm in width. The diameter of the oscula was approximately 2mm in diameter.
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