The Sea Orange Sponge is a bright orange sponge-looking sea creature that is also known as the Sulphur Sponge. It can be found all around the coasts of England in shallow and deep waters. It attaches itself onto rocks, ship wrecks, empty shells and also on the shells of living Hermit Crabs.

The Sea Orange Sponge is a group of cells that live together to form a colony and the colony is held together by a spongy body. The body can be ten to forty centimetres in diameter and is usually an orange colour, but it can also be yellow, brown, green, grey or white. The spongy body has a system of pores and canals which water passes through. The cells in the sponge body need to be able to work together to be able to survive as an entire animal so certain cells have specific functions. Some cells maintain the flow of water through the spongy body, some reproduce and some are filter feeders which store and bring food to other cells.

Some cells reproduce by ‘budding’ which means they can create other cells that promote growth. Some cells can also create eggs which hatch directly in the water. The larvae that hatch out of the eggs may become part of zooplankton for a while, but usually they settle immediately to develop into adult Sea Orange Sponges.