Another similar species is Agelas sventres but that has round holes on the exposed side, each with a noticeable rim.

Oxygen and food particles (mostly bacteria) are removed from the water as it passes through the sponge, and waste products are carried away.

[5] The orange elephant ear sponge is a hermaphrodite; different individuals in a particular population synchronise their spawning activity.

[6] The sponge contains secondary metabolites that are distasteful to predatory fish such as the blue-headed wrasse (Thalassoma bifasciatum).

Researchers found that the compounds involved were identical in various members of the genus Agelas, showing that such chemical defences must have been in use before the species evolved from a common ancestor.