Question #149724. Asked by
psnz.
Last updated Aug 29 2023.
Originally posted Aug 29 2023 8:33 PM.
Aplysina archeri, also known as a stove-pipe sponge because of its shape, is a species of tube sponge that has long tube-like structures of cylindrical shape. Although they can grow in a single tube, they often grow in large groups of up to 22 tubes.[2] A single tube can grow up to 5 feet (1.5 m) high and 3 inches (7.6 cm) thick. These sponges mostly live in the Western Atlantic Ocean: the Caribbean, The Bahamas, Florida, and Bonaire.
Among the larger known sponges at up to a meter in height and width, the common name Neptune's cup refers to its characteristic wine glass shape and the Roman god of the sea. The species was thought to be extinct since late 1900s due to overharvesting, but live specimens were discovered in 2011 off the coast of Singapore[2][3] and Thailand. Later they were transported so they can be close enough to reproduce. Another population was later found in Cambodia.[4] In the early 1900s, they were used as baby baths because they grew so large.
The name Venus’s flower basket derives from the sponges’ delicate, white, latticelike skeletons made of silica. In the living animal the skeleton is covered by a thin layer of cells. E. aspergillum is found in a small area of the sea near the Philippine Islands.
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