Story: Marine animals without backbones

Stalk of a glass sponge (1st of 2)

Stalk of a glass sponge

About 70 types of glass sponge have been found growing on the deep-sea floor around New Zealand, at depths between 450 and 4,000 metres. This is the stalk of the tulip-shaped glass sponge, Hyalonema. It is composed of long strands of glass fibres, which have fibre-optic properties, used to anchor the sponge to the sea floor.

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Photograph by Peter Batson

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How to cite this page:

Dennis Gordon and Maggy Wassilieff, 'Marine animals without backbones - Sponges and jellies', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/5795/stalk-of-a-glass-sponge (accessed 29 March 2024)

Story by Dennis Gordon and Maggy Wassilieff, published 12 Jun 2006