CreatureData

Boring sponge

Cliona celata Grant, 1826

Status not recordedsponges

The boring sponge (Cliona celata) is a sponge in the family Clionaidae, part of the phylum Porifera. It belongs to the genus Cliona, order Clionaida and class Demospongiae, and was named by Grant, 1826.

Boring sponge (Cliona celata)
Photo: This photo has been taken by Matthieu Sontag (User:Mirgolth) and released… · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the boring sponge

Other English names for it include sulfur sponge, red boring sponge, yellow boring sponge, sulphur boring sponge and yellow boring horny sponge. The Catalogue of Life lists it as a living, not extinct, species.

Weight
Not recorded
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
coastalsrc for Habitat
Young per litter or clutch
Not recorded
Reproduction
Eggssrc for Reproduction
Conservation status
Not recorded
Countries on record
Not recorded

What eats the boring sponge?

Species recorded in published studies and collections.

Recorded predators of the boring sponge

1 on record

  1. Corkwing Symphodus melops2 sources

Each pair is recorded by at least two independent datasets. A record shows the animal was seen or found to have eaten the other, including scavenged carcasses and young animals; it does not say how often. Compiled by Global Biotic Interactions (CC0 1.0).

References for these records
  • Globi
  • Jacob et al. (2015)

Photos of the boring sponge

Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.

Boring sponge (Cliona celata)
Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Boring sponge (Cliona celata)
Olivier Dugornay (Ifremer) · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Boring sponge (Cliona celata)
Olivier Dugornay (Ifremer) · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Boring sponge (Cliona celata)
Olivier Dugornay · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Boring sponge (Cliona celata)
Olivier Dugornay · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Boring sponge (Cliona celata)
Olivier Dugornay (Ifremer) · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Boring sponge (Cliona celata)
Olivier Dugornay · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Where does the boring sponge live?

Not recorded

Where has it been introduced?

The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists the boring sponge as introduced in 1 country.

  1. Argentina

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 boring sponge?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

Cliona celata, occasionally called the boring sponge, is a species of demosponge belonging the family Clionaidae. It is found worldwide. This sponge bores round holes up to 5 millimetres (0.20 in) in diameter in limestone or the shells of molluscs, especially oysters. The sponge itself is often visible as a rather featureless yellow or orange lump at the bottom of the hole.

From the Wikipedia article “Cliona celata” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cliona_celata&oldid=1372569181), 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 boring 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 boring sponge classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumPorifera
  3. classDemospongiae
  4. orderClionaida
  5. familyClionaidae
  6. genusCliona
  7. SpeciesCliona celata Grant, 1826

Synonyms Cliona alderi, Cliona angulata, Cliona celata var. linearis, Cliona clio, Cliona coccinea, Cliona globulifera, Cliona gorgonioides, Cliona griffithsii, Cliona hystrix, Cliona pasithea, Cliona sulphurea, Cliona tenebrosus, Cliona terebrans, Cliona typica, Halichondria celata, Halichondria hystrix, Hymeniacidon celata, Hymeniacidon celata, Hymeniacidon celatus, Hymeniacidon tenebrosus, Pione typica, Raphyrus griffithsii, Rhaphyrus griffithsii, Spongia peziza, Spongia sulphurea, Spongia terebrans, Suberites griffithsii, Vioa celata, Vioa celata, Vioa clio, Vioa coccinea, Vioa dujardini, Vioa pasithea, Vioa typica

Other names and names in other languages (23)
  • Red boring spongeEnglish
  • Sulfur spongeEnglish
  • Sulphur boring spongeEnglish
  • Yellow boring horny spongeEnglish
  • Yellow boring spongeEnglish
  • esponja perforantCatalan
  • houba sírováCzech
  • BoresvampDanish
  • gelber BorschwammGerman
  • BohrschwammGerman
  • gelber BohrschwammGerman
  • ZellenbohrschwammGerman
  • esponja perforanteSpanish
  • clione jauneFrench
  • Éponge croûte jauneFrench
  • éponge jauneFrench
  • Esponxa furadora amarelaGalician
  • Cliona giallaItalian
  • カクレセンコウカイメンJapanese
  • 호박해면Korean
  • boorsponsDutch
  • gele boorsponsDutch
  • wiertka złotawaPolish

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistITISTAXREFWikidataWoRMS

Relatives of the boring sponge

Other species in the same genus Cliona.

CompareBoring sponge vs Neptune's cup spongeBoring sponge vs Green boring spongeBoring sponge vs California boring spongeBoring sponge vs Yellow boring sponge

Common questions

Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.

What is the scientific name of the boring sponge?

Its scientific name is Cliona celata, in the genus Cliona.

Who named the boring sponge and when?

The boring sponge was named by Grant, 1826.

What other names does the boring sponge have?

It is also called the sulfur sponge, red boring sponge, yellow boring sponge, sulphur boring sponge and yellow boring horny sponge.

Is the boring sponge extinct?

No. The Catalogue of Life lists the boring sponge as living, not extinct.

What class and order does the boring sponge belong to?

It belongs to the class Demospongiae and the order Clionaida.

Is the boring sponge an invasive species?

The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists the boring sponge as introduced in 1 country: Argentina, but does not flag it as invasive in any of them.

What eats the boring sponge?

Animals recorded preying on the boring sponge include corkwing. The records are compiled by Global Biotic Interactions from published studies; each pair is reported by at least two datasets.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-14. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Boring sponge (Cliona celata). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/cliona-celata

MLA

“Boring sponge (Cliona celata).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/cliona-celata.

BibTeX
@misc{cliona_celata_2026,
  title = {Boring sponge (Cliona celata)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/cliona-celata},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-14}
}