concave and is usually made up of a number of 

 oscules up to one-quarter of an inch in 

 diameter. When cleaned, the edges of the 

 oscules are quite thin and feathery and in most 

 cases form chimneys an inch or so in height. 



In Biscayne Bay and the Bahamas this sponge, 

 or a variant, grows into a rounded form with 

 very tall chimneys. These latter sponges are 

 light in weight and have little total spongin fiber 

 material. Numbers of this type now appear on 

 the market but bring a very low price. 



Gulf grass sponge (Spongia graminea tampa 

 de Laubenfels and Storr 1958) .— In life the Gulf 

 grass sponge has a smooth surface and a light 

 drab color. It is roughly vase-shaped, but under 

 good growth conditions the inside of the vase is 

 almost completely filled in. Sponges of this 

 latter form have a fine texture and good market 

 value. When cleaned the color is light tan. 



The number of grass sponges taken every 

 year varies considerably but is usually between 

 4 to 6 percent of the total take. The value is 

 about the same as that of the yellow sponge. 



Finger sponge (Axinella polycapella de 

 Laubenfels 1953) . — The finger sponge has a 

 bushlike shape in which each of the branches is 

 about one-half inch in diameter (fig. 1). The 

 color in life is bright orange-red. These 

 sponges grow from 2 to 3 feet high. This is the 

 only commercial sponge containing spicules. It 

 is harvested in very limited quantity although 

 it is common in the Gulf. 



When cleaned, the sponge is pale tan to cream 

 in color. It is used in making swab applicators 

 for liquid shoe polish or for similar purposes. 

 A good- sized sponge sells for about 15 cents. 

 There are no records of the number taken or the 

 total value for this sponge. 



Glove sponge (Spongia cheiHs de Laubenfels 

 and Storr 1958) . — This sponge is almost black 

 in color, subconical in shape with the skeleton 

 thrown up into perpendicular folds or ridges 

 on the sides. The top of the sponge contains 

 one large oscule. When cleaned the sponge is 

 also light tan in color. 



The sponge has very poor quality and is 

 easily torn. The yearly take is normally less 



than 0.5 percent of the total production. Value 

 of the sponge per piece over the years has been 

 from 4 to 12 cents with an average value of 

 about 6 cents. The glove sponge and the finger 

 sponge together probably make up less than 1 

 percent of the total value of all sponges taken. 

 It is found in the Anclote Key area and along 

 the Florida Keys. 



Other commercial sponge species . — The 

 wire sponge ( Spongia sterea de Laubenfels and 

 Storr 1958), which wasformerly of minor com- 

 mercial importance, is now no longer in de- 

 mand although a few are found in the Gulf 

 northwest of Cedar Keys at depths of 40 feet 

 or more. In deep water they grow to 30 inches 

 in diameter. 



The reef sponge ( S. obliqua Duchassaing and 

 Michelotti 1864) is probably not taken commer- 

 cially at present; there is no official record of 

 its having survived the disease periods in 

 Florida waters. 



The velvet sponge ( Hippiospongia gossypina 

 Duchassaing and Michelotti 1864) was found 

 principally in the waters off the Keys. The 

 usual habitat was in living coral areas at depths 

 of 3 to 25 feet. At one time this sponge made up 

 a large portion of the take from this zone and 

 also from the Bahamas where the favorable 

 ecological conditions produced a grade of 

 sponge almost equivalent to that of the wool. 

 The 1938 fungal disease appears to have 

 destroyed this species. None have been re- 

 ported in the Bahamas since the disease. 



Sponge Fibers 



The basic desirable qualities — ability to hold 

 water, compressibility, resiliency, and tough- 

 ness — of a sponge are all dependent upon its 

 fiber pattern and structure. The sponge fiber 

 is composed of a kind of keratin, spongin, 

 closely related to the collagens. Keratin itself 

 is made up of iodine and amino acids — lysine, 

 arginine, cystine, phenylalinine, and glycine. 

 (Block and Boiling, 1939). 



The ability to hold water and compressibility 

 are a result of both pattern and size of the 

 fibers. Von Lendenfeld (1889) showed that: 



1. Compressibility of the sponges is 

 partly dependent upon the shape of the mesh- 

 work. The more regularly polygonal the meshes 



