Geodia gibberosa, commonly known as the white encrusting sponge,[1] is a species of sea sponge found in the Caribbean. It is eaten by hawksbill turtles.[2] It was first described by Lamarck in 1815.[3]
Geodia gibberosa is a large, dense sponge. It can be white or pale tan when exposed to very little light, or dark brown in areas with a lot of it.[4] It is usually in the form of a knobby, fist-like mass, often up to 50 cm in diameter. It may also occur as a spherical mass without projections and is also known to form large colonies that resemble rounded calcareous rocks.[5] Its skeleton is a bunch of needle-like spicules radiating outward from the center near the surface, much more randomly dispersed on the inside.
Geodia gibberosa is found in the Bahamas, Florida, Brazil, and West Africa.[6] It is commonly found in shallow waters with hard bottoms, generally in the same area as seagrasses.