Codium spongiosum Harvey, 1855b: 565 (lectotype locality: King George Sound, Western Australia fide P. Silva & Womersley, 1956: 268).—Harvey, 1858b: pl. LV.— J. Agardh, 1887: 38.— De Toni, 1889: 489–490.— J. Agardh, 1894a: 99–100.— Lucas, 1936: 51–52, fig. 32.— Stephenson, 1947: 296 (excluding Port Edward Record).— P. Silva, 1952b: 388–389, fig. 15.— P. Silva & Womersley, 1956: 268–269, fig. 5.— G.G. Smith, 1956: 11.— Womersley, 1956: 375.— P. Silva, 1959: 118, 120–121, fig. 6.— P. Silva, 1962: 208, fig. 6.— Simons, 1977: 22, fig. 44.— Seagrief, 1980: 21, fig. on pl. 2.— Womersley, 1984: 228, 230.— Kendrick, Walker, & McComb, 1988: table 1.— Huisman et al., 1990: 90.— Huisman & Walker, 1990: 362.— Kendrick, Huisman, & Walker, 1990: 49.— Farrell, Critchley, & Aken, 1993: 149.— Branch et al., 1994: 312.— Farrell et al., 1994: 280.
Taxonomic synonym:
* Codium spongiosum Harvey var. mauritianum Børgesen, 1940: 68–70, fig. 23 (`mauritiana') (type locality: Pointe aux Roches, Mauritius).
Codium mauritianum (Børgesen) Børgesen, 1946: 46–49, fig. 18.—Børgesen, 1948: 36–37, fig. 17.
Misapplied names:
Codium difforme.—Jadin, 1935: 157.
Codium mamillosum.—Levring, 1938: 16.
INDIAN OCEAN DISTRIBUTION: Australia, Mauritius, Mozambique, South Africa.
Note: The misapplication of Codium difforme was noted by Børgesen (1946: 49), that of C. mamillosum by P. Silva (1959: 120). Codium spongiosum var. mauritianum was established on the basis of perceived differences in utricle size and shape, but when the spectrum of variability of this widespread species is considered, the Mauritius populations prove not to be taxonomically distinct. Codium spongiosum is the only species known with certainty from all three major oceans.