Species Diversity of Marine Sponges along Chanthaburi and Trat Provinces, the Eastern Coast of the Gulf of Thailand

Abstract Species diversity of marine sponges was investigated in various habitats along the coast and islands of Chanthaburi and Trat provinces during February to May 2006. Sample collection was conducted from 18 sites, mostly carried out by wading and SCUBA diving during daytime and the observations were randomly conducted in all collection sites. The results showed that 72 species from 11 orders, 37 families and 52 genera were identified. Out of these, three species were the new records from Thai Waters, namely Placospongia melobesioides, Eurypon sp. “black ” and Rhabderemia sp. “brown”. Most species were previously found in the Gulf of Thailand and the South China Sea. Species occurrence in various habitats was noted for some common sponges