The mermaid's glove has decorative branches which often fuse together, resembling antlers. In Dutch, it is called 'antler sponge'. If the waters are calm where it grows, the branches are thin, resembling fine fingers. Probably the reason it's called mermaid's glove in English. In wilder waters, the branches are wider and flatter. This sponge gets its food by sucking up water through tiny pores. Other pores visible on the branches are used for expelling the filtered seawater.

 Haliclona oculata is pale brown in colour, but can also be yellowish, greenish, rose or purple. It has a stalked tree form with digitate branches, arising from a limited encrusting holdfast. It is usually about 30 cm tall and has a velvety surface. Branches are typically numerous, with a diameter of about 7 mm. The sponge has a robust consistency but is easily compressible and very flexible.Under sheltered conditions, branches are occasionally flattened, antler-shaped and less numerous. The shape and degree of branching is greatly affected by the strength of the counter flow, with the much branched form being found in strong currents.

Belgian Exclusive Economic Zone, Bretagne, British Isles, Calais, Cap Blanc Nez, Celtic Seas, Danish Exclusive Economic Zone, De Panne, Delta area, Dutch Exclusive Economic Zone, East Coast of Ireland, European waters (ERMS scope), Faeroes, Faroe Plateau, Grevelingen, Gulf of Maine/Bay of Fundy, Gulf of St. Lawrence - Eastern Scotian Shelf, Kara Sea, Kattegat, North Coast of France, North Coast of Ireland, North Coast of Norway, North East Atlantic, North Sea, North West Atlantic, Oostende, Oosterschelde, Portuguese Exclusive Economic Zone, Shetlands, Skagerrak, South Africa (country), South Coast of Ireland, South European Atlantic Shelf, Southern Norway, Spitsbergen, Tunisia, Virginian, West Coast of Ireland, Wimereux

United States

Origin: Unknown/Undetermined

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Present

Confidence: Confident

Type of Residency: Year-round

Depth range based on 58 specimens in 1 taxon.
Water temperature and chemistry ranges based on 20 samples.

Environmental ranges
  Depth range (m): 0 - 137
  Temperature range (°C): 6.695 - 24.323
  Nitrate (umol/L): 0.501 - 8.324
  Salinity (PPS): 33.762 - 36.231
  Oxygen (ml/l): 4.519 - 6.375
  Phosphate (umol/l): 0.100 - 0.651
  Silicate (umol/l): 0.805 - 4.294

Graphical representation

Depth range (m): 0 - 137

Temperature range (°C): 6.695 - 24.323

Nitrate (umol/L): 0.501 - 8.324

Salinity (PPS): 33.762 - 36.231

Oxygen (ml/l): 4.519 - 6.375

Phosphate (umol/l): 0.100 - 0.651

Silicate (umol/l): 0.805 - 4.294
 
Note: this information has not been validated. Check this *note*. Your feedback is most welcome.

 Haliclona oculata can be found on open coasts and the outer reaches of estuaries, usually in the sublittoral and occasionally cryptic low-littoral zones, to about 100 m depth. The species is often associated with rather silted water. Usually on rocky or sandy substrata, often attached to stones and rocks.

The following is a representative barcode sequence, the centroid of all available sequences for this species.


No available public DNA sequences.

Download FASTA File

Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLDS) Stats
Public Records: 1
Specimens with Barcodes: 1
Species With Barcodes: 1

United States

Rounded National Status Rank: NNR - Unranked

Rounded Global Status Rank: GNR - Not Yet Ranked