External characters
thickly encrusting, forms mat, ~5 cm (d).
Colour
white in life; white in ethanol.
Skeletal Characters
| Oscules | apical to raised sections of sponge. |
| Texture | brittle, thick, detachable surface layer covers soft, friable, pulpy choanosomal region. |
| Surface_Ornamentation | smooth and undulating, rising in sections to form mounds with apical oscules. |
| Ectosomal_Skeleton | small oxeas in dense bouquets, forming thick crust. |
| Choanosomal_Skeleton | larger oxeas and strongyloxea scattered throughout, without any clear organisation; mesohyl light, patchy throughout. |
| Megascleres | oxeas: 2 classes; strongyloxeas. |
| Microscleres | nil. |
| Mudmap_Author | P Sutcliffe |
| Mudmap_Editor | Kathryn Hall |
Distribution
In French Polynesia: west Tuamotu and south Marquesas islands
Ecology and habitat
On the outer reef slope in Tuamotu. On the rocky wall / slope in Marquesas.
P. Sutcliffe (2014). QM4695 Topsentia sp. (OTU QM4695) . In: Hall, K.A. & Hooper, J.N.A. (2014) SpongeMaps: an online community for taxonomy and identification of sponges. (Available at http://www.spongemaps.org).
