# Petrosia
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{{Short description|Genus of sponges}}
{{Automatic taxobox
|image = Petrosia ficiformis.jpg
|image_caption = [Petrosia ficiformis](/source/Petrosia_ficiformis)
|taxon = Petrosia
|authority = Vosmaer, 1885
}}
'''''Petrosia''''' is a [benthic](/source/Benthos) [genus](/source/genus) of [sponge](/source/sponge)s belonging to the family [Petrosiidae](/source/Petrosiidae).[{{Cite web |title=WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Petrosia (Petrosia) Vosmaer, 1885 |url=https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=166820#attributes |access-date=2025-08-31 |website=www.marinespecies.org}}][{{cite web |title=Petrosia Vosmaer, 1885 |url=https://www.gbif.org/species/2246444 |website=www.gbif.org |access-date=9 June 2021 |language=en}}]
== Diet ==
They are [filter feeder](/source/filter_feeder)s, and their [diet](/source/diet_(nutrition)) is composed of [microorganism](/source/microorganism)s, including [bacteria](/source/bacteria), [fungi](/source/Fungus), [plankton](/source/plankton), and [unicellular](/source/Unicellular_organism) [algae](/source/algae). Certain [species](/source/species) can also absorb dissolved [organic matter](/source/organic_matter) directly from the water. Other species host [symbiotic](/source/Symbiotic_bacteria) [cyanobacteria](/source/cyanobacteria), which can provide additional [nutrition](/source/nutrition) via [photosynthesis](/source/photosynthesis).
== Distribution ==
The [pgenus has an almost [cosmopolitan distribution](/source/cosmopolitan_distribution), with species found in [habitat](/source/habitat)s from [temperate](/source/Temperate_climate) to [tropical](/source/tropical) waters and from the [intertidal](/source/Intertidal_zone) zone to deep [waters](/source/ocean).[{{Cite web |title=WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Petrosia (Petrosia) Vosmaer, 1885 |url=https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=166820#distributions |access-date=2025-08-31 |website=www.marinespecies.org}}]
== Description ==
''Petrosia'' comprises [sponge](/source/sponge)s with a characteristic hard, stony, and [brittle](/source/Brittleness) texture, primarily due to their dense network of [siliceous](/source/siliceous) [spicules](/source/Spicules_of_silicious_sponges). While the group is [morphologically](/source/Morphology_(biology)) diverse—exhibiting forms such as branching, [cylindrical](/source/cylindrical), [globular](/source/Sphere), or bowl-shaped structures—the [internal skeleton](/source/internal_skeleton) structure is a more consistent classifying feature. The surface of these sponges]p is typically rough or [granular](/source/Granularity) and punctuated by numerous, often small and scattered, [oscules](/source/Osculating_curve). The spicules, which can be seen under a [microscope](/source/microscope), are generally long, slightly curved rods with pointed or rounded ends. The coloration of ''Petrosia'' is variable; many species are dark reds, browns, or blacks, but some exhibit bright, vivid colors like yellow, often influenced by the presence of [symbiotic](/source/Symbiotic_bacteria) [cyanobacteria](/source/cyanobacteria).[{{Cite journal |last1=Juan |first1=Yung-Shun |last2=Lee |first2=Chien-Chih |last3=Tsao |first3=Chia-Wei |last4=Lu |first4=Mei-Chin |last5=El-Shazly |first5=Mohamed |last6=Shih |first6=Huei-Chuan |last7=Chen |first7=Yu-Cheng |last8=Wu |first8=Yang-Chang |last9=Su |first9=Jui-Hsin |date=2014-09-18 |title=Structure elucidation and cytotoxic evaluation of new polyacetylenes from a marine sponge Petrosia sp |journal=International Journal of Molecular Sciences |volume=15 |issue=9 |pages=16511–16521 |doi=10.3390/ijms150916511 |doi-access=free |issn=1422-0067 |pmc=4200862 |pmid=25238415}}][{{Cite web |date=2009-01-13 |title=ResearchGATE |url=https://doi.org/10.4016/9522.01 |access-date=2025-08-31 |website=SciVee |doi=10.4016/9522.01 |doi-broken-date=31 August 2025 }}][{{Cite web |title=Petrosia: The Sexual Life of the Sponges |url=http://coo.fieldofscience.com/2015/09/petrosia-sexual-life-of-sponges.html |access-date=2025-08-31}}]
==Species==
# ''Petrosia (Petrosia) australis'' Bergquist & Warne, 1980
# ''Petrosia (Petrosia) borealis'' (Lambe, 1895)
# ''Petrosia (Petrosia) brachysclera'' Lévi & Lévi, 1989
# ''Petrosia (Petrosia) canariensis'' de Weerdt & van Soest, 1986
# ''Petrosia (Petrosia) capsa'' Desqueyroux-Faúndez, 1987
# ''Petrosia (Petrosia) clavata'' (Esper, 1794)
# ''Petrosia (Petrosia) crassa'' (Carter, 1876)
# ''Petrosia (Petrosia) cretacea'' (Schmidt, 1870)
# ''Petrosia (Petrosia) crustata'' Wilson, 1925
# ''Petrosia (Petrosia) densissima'' Dendy, 1905
# ''Petrosia (Petrosia) elephantotus'' Ilan, Gugel & van Soest, 2004
# ''Petrosia (Petrosia) ernesti'' Goodwin & Downey, 2021
# ''Petrosia (Petrosia) expansa'' (Thiele, 1903)
# ''[Petrosia (Petrosia) ficiformis](/source/Petrosia_ficiformis)'' (Poiret, 1789)
# ''Petrosia (Petrosia) granifera'' Desqueyroux-Faúndez, 1987
# ''Petrosia (Petrosia) hebes'' Lendenfeld, 1888
# ''Petrosia (Petrosia) hoeksemai'' de Voogd & van Soest, 2002
# ''Petrosia (Petrosia) incrustata'' (Alcolado & Gotera, 1986)
# ''Petrosia (Petrosia) intermedia'' (Czerniavsky, 1880)
# ''Petrosia (Petrosia) lignosa'' Wilson, 1925
# ''Petrosia (Petrosia) mammiformis'' Dendy, 1922
# ''Petrosia (Petrosia) massiva'' Lehnert & van Soest, 1996
# ''Petrosia (Petrosia) microxea'' (Vacelet, Vasseur & Lévi, 1976)
# ''Petrosia (Petrosia) nigricans'' Lindgren, 1897
# ''Petrosia (Petrosia) pellasarca'' (de Laubenfels, 1934)
# ''Petrosia (Petrosia) pigmentosa'' Fromont, 1991
# ''Petrosia (Petrosia) plana'' Wilson, 1925
# ''Petrosia (Petrosia) pluricrustata'' Lévi & Lévi, 1983
# ''Petrosia (Petrosia) pulvilla'' (Thiele, 1903)
# ''Petrosia (Petrosia) puna'' de Laubenfels, 1951
# ''Petrosia (Petrosia) punctata'' Lévi & Lévi, 1983
# ''Petrosia (Petrosia) raphida'' Boury-Esnault, Pansini & Uriz, 1994
# ''Petrosia (Petrosia) revizee'' Rocha, Moraes, Salani & Hajdu, 2021
# ''Petrosia (Petrosia) seychellensis'' Dendy, 1922
# ''Petrosia (Petrosia) shellyi'' Pulitzer-Finali, 1993
# ''Petrosia (Petrosia) solida'' Hoshino, 1981
# ''Petrosia (Petrosia) solusstrongyla'' Hoshino, 1981
# ''Petrosia (Petrosia) spheroida'' Tanita, 1967
# ''Petrosia (Petrosia) truncata'' Ridley & Dendy, 1886
# ''Petrosia (Petrosia) ushitsuensis'' Tanita, 1963
# ''Petrosia (Petrosia) volcano'' Hoshino, 1976
# ''Petrosia (Petrosia) weinbergi'' van Soest, 1980