Glass Sponges

Glass Sponges

Glass sponges of BC. Can you see differences between the reef-building and non-reef-building species?

Tall, bubbly, white glass sponge with a large opening at the top and one branch with large opening at the bottom.
Hardened dead brown-and-cream-coloured sponge.
A delicate cream-coloured glass sponge specimen with its transparent grid-like skeleton showing in places.
: Large mass of white finger-like structures and tubes surrounded by the darkness of the deep sea.
Small rounded glass sponge with one large opening at the top.
Dirty white oval-shaped sponge with holes in it and long stiff hair-like strands on the outside.

At home on the glass sponge reefs.

 

: A small orange crab with two long spikes on its head inside the porous body of a dead sponge.
Small white lobster with large black eyes and two extra-long arms with pinchers.
A dead orange/red fish with yellow eyes and stomach.
Red brittle star arms emerging from a live white glass sponge.
Worm face with short tentacles and mouth pieces.
: Copper-coloured bristles and milky white tentacles of a small worm sticking out of its sand-tube case.
Small skinny worm with pink tentacles coming off its head.

 

Spicule Art created by Dr. Henry Reiswig.

Geometric toothpick-like structures of various shapes.
Spherical shapes made from multiple sticks with rounded tips.
Spherical shapes made from multiple sticks with pointy tips.
Complicated spherical shapes.
Multiple different rounded and pointy shapes. Some are spindly, others are spherical.
Headshot of Dr. Henry Reiswig.

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