image
Sponge and Deep Discoverer
During Dive 12 of the 2026 American Samoa ROV + Mapping Exploration expedition, we saw a variety of glass sponges, including this stalked Caulophacus sponge that was more than 3 meters tall (9.8 feet) with a head that was 50 centimeters (20 inches) across. To give you a sense of the sponge’s size, in this image, remotely operated vehicle Deep Discoverer, which is 2 meters (6.4 feet) wide, shines its light on the sponge.