December 1, 2020: Newly Discovered Sponge
Image courtesy of the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, 2016 Deepwater Exploration of the Marianas. Download larger version (jpg, 778 KB).
Scientists recently identified and named a new genus and species of sponge: Advhena magnifica, Latin for “magnificent alien.” This new sponge was sampled and seen during missions in the Pacific on NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer.
This image shows the glass sponge prior to being collected in 2016 at a depth of ~2,000 meters (6,560 feet). Scientists call this class of sponges “glass sponges” (class Hexactinellida) because their skeletons are made of silica (glass). Their bodies contain fascinating tissues that consist of many nuclei within a single membrane, and these tissues help conduct electrical signals across the sponge, making them able to respond quickly to external stimuli.
From: A Magnificent New Sponge from the Deep Gets a Name.