''Racekiela ryderi'' is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of freshwater

sponge Sponges, the members of the phylum Porifera (; meaning 'pore bearer'), are a basal animal clade as a sister of the diploblasts. They are multicellular organisms that have bodies full of pores and channels allowing water to circulate through t ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Spongillidae Spongilidae is a family of sponges that live in freshwater lakes and rivers. The following genera are recognized in the family: * ''Anheteromeyenia'' Schröder, 1927 * ''Corvoheteromeyenia'' Ezcurra de Drago, 1979 * ''Corvospongilla'' Annandale, ...

. It was first described by Edward Potts in 1882. It was collected on Sable Island in 1899 by John Macoun, a biologist with the Geological Survey of Canada, and given the name ''Heteromeyenia macouni'' by A.H. Mackay in 1900. It was originally assumed to be

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to Sable Island but is now considered to be the same species as ''Racekiela ryderi'', which is more broadly distributed.

References

Spongillidae Sable Island Sponges described in 1882 {{Demosponge-stub