Some of the most fascinating organisms in the deep-sea are the hexactinellids, commonly known as glass sponges. Glass sponges live almost exclusively at depths > 300 m and are often dotted throughout our ROV dives, but they can also form dense glass gardens and even reefs
As if that were not enough, here are a few other reasons why glass sponges are one of my favourites:
Incredible spicules: Other sponges have tiny spicules, but glass sponges can grow spicules up to 3 metres long
While we have observed these animals on our dives, the spectacular reefs that glass sponges formed were thought to have been extinct for 40 million years. In the late 1980s, however, scientists discovered living reefs off the northern coast of British Columbia--and these are the only known glass sponge reefs in the world. Who knows what else we will find if we just keep exploring?
