Callyspongia vaginalis, known as the branching vase sponge is a demosponge

Demosponge

The Demospongiae are the largest class in the phylum Porifera. Their "skeletons" are made of spicules consisting of fibers of the protein spongin, the mineral silica, or both. Where spicules of silica are present, they have a different shape from those in the otherwise similar glass sponges...

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This species is frequently colonized by Parazoanthus parasiticus, a colonial anenome, and Ophiothrix suensonii, a brittle star. It feeds on plankton

Plankton

Plankton are any drifting organisms that inhabit the pelagic zone of oceans, seas, or bodies of fresh water. That is, plankton are defined by their ecological niche rather than phylogenetic or taxonomic classification...

 and detritus

Detritus

Detritus is a biological term used to describe dead or waste organic material.Detritus may also refer to:* Detritus , a geological term used to describe the particles of rock produced by weathering...

. The color of C. vaginalis is variable, ranging from lavender to brownish-gray to greenish-gray and sometimes light tan.

C. vaginalis usually has a tubular growth pattern, although the magnitude of the current affects its growth form. The long, erect tubes taper slightly and have a wide vent up to 2.5 cm in diameter with a thin wall. The sponge has very elastic tubes that vary in length and can stand singly or with other tubes. The sponge is rough with its irregular pits and nubs covering its surface. The species is found on hard surfaces, usually reef plateaus and deep reef slopes.

It lives in the area of the Caribbean

Caribbean

The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...

, Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

, Bermuda

Bermuda

Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...

, and the Bahamas

The Bahamas

The Bahamas , officially the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, is a nation consisting of 29 islands, 661 cays, and 2,387 islets . It is located in the Atlantic Ocean north of Cuba and Hispaniola , northwest of the Turks and Caicos Islands, and southeast of the United States...

. It grows at a temperature of 20°-24°C.