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Subterranean biodiversity of North America and around the globe

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Cave Biology Data Portal
Subterranean biodiversity of North America and around the globe
AnimaliaPoriferaDemospongiaeSpongillidaSpongillidaeSpongilla

Common Freshwater Sponge
Spongilla lacustris (Linnaeus, 1759)

Taxonomy

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Porifera
Class Demospongiae
Order Spongillida
Family Spongillidae
Genus Spongilla
Species Spongilla lacustris (Linnaeus, 1759)

Description

Diagnostic characters

Ecological class
Accidental

Distribution

Range

Known from one county in Kentucky.

Continent

North America

Country

United States

States and provinces

Kentucky

Counties

Kentucky
Edmonson

Conservation and management

NatureServe

G5 Secure

G1G2G3G4G5▲

National ranks

Canada
N5 Secure
United States
N5 Secure

Subnational ranks

Newfoundland and Labrador
SU Unrankable
New Brunswick
SU Unrankable
Nunavut
SU Unrankable
Alberta
SU Unrankable
Yukon
SU Unrankable
Ontario
SNR Unranked
Northwest Territories
SU Unrankable
British Columbia
SNR Unranked
Quebec
SNR Unranked
Newfoundland and Labrador
S5 Secure
Nova Scotia
SU Unrankable
South Carolina
S3 Vulnerable
Pennsylvania
S1 Critically Imperiled
Michigan
SNR Unranked
Wyoming
SNR Unranked
Montana
SNR Unranked
Indiana
SNR Unranked
Connecticut
SNR Unranked

State and federal status

Not listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act

References

  • Barr, T.C., Jr. & Kuehne, R.A. 1971. Ecological studies in the Mammoth Cave system of Kentucky. II. The Ecosystem. Annales de Speleologie 26: 47–96. doi:10.5038/1827-806X.3.1.10

How to cite this account

Spongilla lacustris (Linnaeus, 1759). Cave Biology Data Portal, account SP-2954. https://cavebiology.org/species/spongilla-lacustris/ (accessed 7 September 2026).

Data sources and funding are listed in the Acknowledgments.

Spotted something wrong on this page? Report a correction. Accounts are compiled from many sources and corrections from people who know the group are the most useful email we get.

Cave Biology Data Portal

Species accounts, distributions, and conservation status for the subterranean fauna of North America and around the globe, with resources for the cave and karst research community.

Text and data CC BY 4.0. Images all rights reserved unless stated.

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