River sponge
Ephydatia fluviatilis (Linnaeus, 1759)
Status not recordedsponges
The river sponge (Ephydatia fluviatilis) is a sponge in the family Spongillidae, order Spongillida, class Demospongiae and phylum Porifera. It is also called the greater freshwater sponge or brackish water freshwater sponge, and its scientific name carries the authority (Linnaeus, 1759).
Quick facts about the river sponge
The Catalogue of Life lists the river sponge as a living, not extinct, species.
- Weight
- Not recorded
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- freshwatersrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- Not recorded
- Conservation status
- Not recorded
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the river sponge
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the river sponge live?
Not recorded
What is the river sponge?
Ephydatia fluviatilis is a species of Ephydatia.
This species is spread globally, however it is most common in the freshwater bodies of the northern hemisphere.
One study elucidated this species's habitat preference in a freshwater lake in Utah.
It has been studied that E. fluviatilis exhibits a symbiotic relationship with different phylums of bacteria in freshwater habitats such as Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria.
Also, E. fluviatilis has the ability to express different sexual phenotypes depending on the reproductive season.
Synonym (basionym): Spongia fluviatilis Linnaeus, 1759.
From the Wikipedia article “Ephydatia fluviatilis” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ephydatia_fluviatilis&oldid=1349663642), 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 river 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 river sponge classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumPorifera
- classDemospongiae
- orderSpongillida
- familySpongillidae
- genusEphydatia
- SpeciesEphydatia fluviatilis (Linnaeus, 1759)
Synonyms Clypeatula cooperensis, Ephydatia fluviatilis chui, Ephydatia fluviatilis hastifera, Ephydatia fluviatilis himalayensis, Ephydatia fluviatilis intha, Ephydatia fluviatilis teberdana, Ephydatia fluviatilis var. capensis, Ephydatia fluviatilis var. himalayensis, Ephydatia goriaevii, Meyenia fluviatilis, Meyenia fluviatilis var. angustibirotulata, Meyenia fluviatilis var. gracilis, Meyenia mexicana, Spongia fluviatilis, Spongilla fluviatilis, Spongilla pulvinata, Spongilla sceptrifera, Spongilla stagnalis
Other names and names in other languages (17)
- Brackish water freshwater spongeEnglish
- Greater freshwater spongeEnglish
- houba říčníCzech
- FlussschwammGerman
- großer SüßwasserschwammGerman
- KlumpenschwammGerman
- Harilik jõekäsnEstonian
- murtovesisieniFinnish
- éponge fluvialeFrench
- カワカイメンJapanese
- Upinė durlėLithuanian
- elvesvampNorwegian Bokmål
- Echte zoetwatersponsDutch
- Gewone zoetwatersponsDutch
- nawodnik rzecznyPolish
- Бадяга речнаяRussian
- hubka riečnaSlovak
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistITISTAXREFWikidataWoRMS
Relatives of the river sponge
Other species in the same genus Ephydatia.
CompareRiver sponge vs Lesser freshwater spongeRiver sponge vs Kissimmee spongeRiver sponge vs Ephydatia caatingaeRiver sponge vs Ephydatia chileana
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 river sponge?
The river sponge is a sponge, an invertebrate in the phylum Porifera and the family Spongillidae.
What is the scientific name of the river sponge?
Its scientific name is Ephydatia fluviatilis, in the genus Ephydatia.
Who named Ephydatia fluviatilis and when?
The species name carries the authority (Linnaeus, 1759).
What other names does the river sponge have?
It is also called the greater freshwater sponge and the brackish water freshwater sponge.
Is the river sponge extinct?
No. The Catalogue of Life lists it as living, not extinct.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-14. 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). - 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). River sponge (Ephydatia fluviatilis). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/river-sponge
“River sponge (Ephydatia fluviatilis).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/river-sponge.
@misc{river_sponge_2026,
title = {River sponge (Ephydatia fluviatilis)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/river-sponge},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-14}
}