''Cliona patera'', commonly called Neptune's cup sponge, is a
species of
demosponge
Demosponges (Demospongiae) are the most diverse class in the phylum Porifera. They include 76.2% of all species of sponges with nearly 8,800 species worldwide (World Porifera Database). They are sponges with a soft body that covers a har ...
in the
family Clionaidae.
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
Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...
since late 1900s due to
overharvesting, but live specimens were discovered in 2011 off the coast of
Singapore and
Thailand. Later they were transported so they can be close enough to reproduce. Another population was later found in
Cambodia.
In the early 1900s, they were used as baby baths because they grew so large.
References
Animals described in 1822
Hadromerida
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