The species encountered most often during Windows to the Deep 2021 Dive 06 was a flat hexactinellid (glass) sponge with a breakable branching cluster of flat, thin lobes. The sponge was identified as possibly being Tretopleura sp., but scientists collected a sample so that they can take a closer look at the sponge’s spicules and make a more definitive identification. This boulder, seen at a depth of 3,625 meters (2.25 miles), was home to many of these kinds of sponges.
Boulder with Many Glass Sponges
Image courtesy of NOAA Ocean Exploration, Windows to the Deep 2021.
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The species encountered most often during Windows to the Deep 2021 Dive 06 was a flat hexactinellid (glass) sponge with a breakable branching cluster of flat, thin lobes. The sponge was identified as possibly being Tretopleura sp., but scientists collected a sample so that they can take a closer look at the sponge’s spicules and make a more definitive identification. This boulder, seen at a depth of 3,625 meters (2.25 miles), was home to many of these kinds of sponges.