VENUS FLOWER BASKET: NOT AN ORDINARY SPONGE

The use of the name “Venus Flower Basket” as used in this blog refers strictly to the living species of Euplectella aspergillum. I had to make this disclaimer because the common name “Venus Flower Basket” sponge has been broadly applied in the published literature to several loosely defined “euplectellid sponges” that encompass a span of geologic time ranging from the Late Ordovician age to present day. 

CLASSIFICATION

Phylum Porifera (= sponges)

Class Hexactinellidae

Family Euplectellidae

Genus Euplectella

Species aspergillum  Owen, 1841

Note: There is no known fossil record of Euplectella aspergillum. The family Euplectellidae (used in the broadest sense) has a sparse record from the Middle Cretaceous onward (Botting et al., 2022). 

HABITAT: 

Deep-marine (100 to 1000 m depth = 330 feet to 3300 feet; commonly below 300 m).

Western Pacific (especially the Philippine Islands and Japan) and also Indian Ocean.

Lives on muddy sediments on the ocean floor.

MORPHOLOGY:

The walls of this sponge are highly porous. Its tubular body (exoskeleton) is made up of numerous small, siliceous six-pointed spicules-interlocking so as to collectively form create a mesh-like vertical structure that allows ocean water to circulate through the walls. Flexible thin glassy fibers (2 to 8 inches long) anchor the sponge to the muddy ocean floor. The top of the tube also has a mesh-like lid.

OTHER:

The tubular body typically houses a pair of breeding “glass-sponge” shrimps. They are unable to leave the cylindrical tube, thus, they live their entire lives inside the sponge. In return, they clean the inside of tube. This is a mutualistic relationship. In Japan, this sponge (with the shrimp inside) is often given as a wedding gift to newlyweds–– as a symbol of undying love. 

The long fibers anchoring the sponges to the ocean floor are of interest to researchers looking for more efficient, low-cost solar cells or considering new materials to be used for other engineering applications.  

References Consulted:

Botting, J.P. et al. 2022. Extraordinary early Venus’ flower basket sponges (Hexactinellidae from the uppermost Ordovician Anji Biota, China. Palaeontology 65, issue 2. (pdf costs $). 

en.wikipedia.org