Breadcrumb sponge
Halichondria panicea (Pallas, 1766)
Status not recordedsponges
The breadcrumb sponge (Halichondria panicea) is a sponge in the family Halichondriidae, order Suberitida, class Demospongiae and phylum Porifera. It belongs to the genus Halichondria, and its scientific name carries the authority (Pallas, 1766).
Quick facts about the breadcrumb sponge
Other English names for it are Bread-crumb sponge, Crumb of bread sponge and Breadcrumb horny sponge. Catalogue of Life lists it as living, not extinct.
- Weight
- Not recorded
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- coastal, marine, rockysrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- Not recorded
- Conservation status
- Not recorded
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Where does the breadcrumb sponge live?
Not recorded
Where has it been introduced?
The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists the breadcrumb sponge as introduced in 2 countries.
Introduced means brought by people and now present; invasive means the country's checklist records an impact. A species can be native to one part of a country and introduced in another. Source: Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species (CC BY 4.0).
What is the breadcrumb sponge?
Halichondria panicea, commonly known as the breadcrumb sponge, is a species of sea sponge belonging to the family Halichondriidae. It is an abundant sponge of coastal areas of the North Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea ranging from the intertidal zone to a recorded depth of over 550 m. The breadcrumb sponge is also found in the intertidal zone of the coast of the northern part of the North Island of New Zealand. H. panicea is very tolerant of a wide range of coastal habitats, including strong currents, high salinity and exposure to powerful wave action. Its only requirement is a rocky substrate which can include small cobbles.
From the Wikipedia article “Halichondria panicea” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Halichondria_panicea&oldid=1374339673), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the breadcrumb sponge endangered?
No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.
How is the breadcrumb sponge classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumPorifera
- classDemospongiae
- orderSuberitida
- familyHalichondriidae
- genusHalichondria
- SpeciesHalichondria panicea (Pallas, 1766)
Synonyms Alcyonium manus, Alcyonium manusdiaboli, Alcyonium medullare, Alcyonium paniceum, Amorphina appendiculata, Amorphina coccinea, Amorphina grisea, Amorphina paciscens, Amorphina panicea, Amorphina velamentosa, Clathria seriata, Clathria seriata, Clathria tumulosa, Eumastia appendiculata, Halichondria albescens, Halichondria ambigua, Halichondria bibula, Halichondria brettii, Halichondria caduca, Halichondria coccinea, Halichondria coralloides, Halichondria edusa, Halichondria firmus, Halichondria glaberrima, Halichondria glabra, Halichondria grisea, Halichondria incerta, Halichondria lactea, Halichondria membrana, Halichondria paciscens, Halichondria panacea, Halichondria panicea, Halichondria pannosus, Halichondria papillaris, Halichondria papillaris, Halichondria reticulata, Halichondria reticulata, Halichondria sevosa, Halichondria topsenti, Halichondria velamentosa, Halichondria velamentosa, Halichondria velamentosa, Halichondriella corticata, Halina panicea, Halina papillaris, Halispongia papillaris, Hymeniacidon brettii, Hymeniacidon coccinea, Hymeniacidon fallaciosus, Hymeniacidon firmus, Hymeniacidon fragilis, Hymeniacidon lactea, Hymeniacidon membrana, Hymeniacidon parfitti, Hymeniacidon reticulatus, Hymeniacidon solidus, Hymeniacidon tegeticula, Hymeniacidon thomasii, Isodictya crassa, Isodictya perplexa, Menanetia minchini, Menanetia topsenti, Microciona tumulosa, Pellina bibula, Reniera velamentosa, Scypha papillaris f. sowerbeii, Seriatula seriata, Spongia albescens, Spongia compacta, Spongia cristata, Spongia panacea, Spongia panicea, Spongia seriata, Spongia tomentosa, Spongia urens, Spuma borealis var. convoluta, Spuma borealis var. tuberosa, Spuma borealis var. velamentosa, Trachyopsilla glaberrima
Other names and names in other languages (12)
- Bread-crumb spongeEnglish
- Breadcrumb horny spongeEnglish
- Crumb of bread spongeEnglish
- MeerbrotGerman
- BrotkrumenschwammGerman
- BrotkrustenschwammGerman
- halichondrieFrench
- éponge panaireFrench
- ナミイソカイメンJapanese
- broodsponsDutch
- gewone broodsponsDutch
- Морський коровайUkrainian
Relatives of the breadcrumb sponge
Other species in the same genus Halichondria.
Bowerbank's halichondria
Halichondria bowerbanki
Legion-nubbed horny sponge
Halichondria sitiens
Flat horny sponge
Halichondria genitrix
Conic horny sponge
Halichondria lambei
CompareBreadcrumb sponge vs Bowerbank's halichondriaBreadcrumb sponge vs Legion-nubbed horny spongeBreadcrumb sponge vs Flat horny spongeBreadcrumb sponge vs Conic horny sponge
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the breadcrumb sponge?
The breadcrumb sponge is a sponge, an animal in the phylum Porifera and the class Demospongiae.
What is the scientific name of the breadcrumb sponge?
Its scientific name is Halichondria panicea, in the genus Halichondria.
Who named the breadcrumb sponge and when?
The authority for Halichondria panicea is written as (Pallas, 1766).
What family does the breadcrumb sponge belong to?
It belongs to the family Halichondriidae, in the order Suberitida.
What other names does the breadcrumb sponge have?
Other English names are Bread-crumb sponge, Crumb of bread sponge and Breadcrumb horny sponge.
Is the breadcrumb sponge extinct?
No. Catalogue of Life lists it as living, not extinct.
Is the breadcrumb sponge an invasive species?
The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists the breadcrumb sponge as introduced in 2 countries: Argentina and Mexico, but does not flag it as invasive in any of them.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-13. How this page is put together.
- Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species (GRIIS) · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-11-13
Pagad, S., Genovesi, P., Carnevali, L., Schigel, D. & McGeoch, M.A. (2018) Introducing the Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species. Scientific Data 5: 170202. https://doi.org/10.1038/sdata.2017.202. Country checklists published through GBIF by the IUCN SSC Invasive Species Specialist Group. - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Breadcrumb sponge (Halichondria panicea). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/breadcrumb-sponge
“Breadcrumb sponge (Halichondria panicea).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/breadcrumb-sponge.
@misc{breadcrumb_sponge_2026,
title = {Breadcrumb sponge (Halichondria panicea)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/breadcrumb-sponge},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-13}
}