|
Euplectella 01
''Euplectella'' is a genus of glass sponges which includes the well-known Venus' Flower Basket The Venus' flower basket (''Euplectella aspergillum'') is a species of glass sponge found in the deep waters of the Pacific Ocean, usually at depths below . Like other glass sponges, they build their skeletons out of silica, which forms a unique .... Glass sponges have a skeleton made up of silica spicules that can form geometric patterns. These animals are most commonly found on muddy sea bottoms in the Western Pacific and Indian Oceans. They are sessile organisms and do not move once attached to a rock. They can be found at depths between 100 m and 1000 m but are most commonly found at depths greater than 500 m. Anatomy ''Euplectella'' is a member of the class Sclerospongiae or glass sponges. The body shape of ''Euplectella'' is cylindrical and vase-like with a hole located at the top of the cylinder structure. This tubular shape is referred to as asconoid. The inner structure o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Venus' Flower Basket
The Venus' flower basket (''Euplectella aspergillum'') is a species of glass sponge found in the deep waters of the Pacific Ocean, usually at depths below . Like other glass sponges, they build their skeletons out of silica, which forms a unique lattice structure consisting of spicules. This body structure is of great interest in materials science as the optical and mechanical properties are in some ways superior to man-made materials. Like other sponges, they feed by filtering sea water to capture plankton and marine snow. Little is known regarding their reproductive habits, though the fluid dynamics of their body structure likely influence reproduction and it is hypothesized that they may be hermaphroditic. Taxonomy ''Euplectella aspergillum'' was described in 1841 by Sir Richard Owen. As the genus ''Euplectella'' was named to accommodate this species, it is the type of its genus. Owen describes it as "...one of the most singular and beautiful, as well as the rarest of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
