Sea Sponge Facts

Sea sponges are one of the most interesting creatures to study about in the field of marine biology. One of the basic sea sponge facts is that sea sponges are very basic and primordial animals. They are either soft or hard, invertebrate, lacking a brain (no burden of thought), lacking organs and a digestive system (so no tummy trouble) - no heart, eyes, mouth, bones, ears and the like. They've lived on earth since around 500 million years and are often found aplenty on coral reefs!

What are They Made of?
Sea sponge facts about their body are peculiar too as they don't move and cannot escape predators. Their bodies are made of two layers and a jelly-like layer in between called mesohyl. They make spiny or bristly structures called spicules, made out of a mesh of protein, spongil and calcium carbonate, as defense against predators.

What do They Eat and How?
One of the interesting sea sponge facts is about their eating. These incredibly colored sea sponges place themselves under water in such a way so that they have a solid base to hold and grow on to and an abundant supply of food. But what do they eat? And how do they eat it? As your bathroom sponge has holes, so does a sea sponge. These holes or pores that are known as ostia. They usually simply filter the water of the ocean or sea by breathing in and out of these pores and take in any bacteria, plankton that would serve as food, and oxygen through the neatly divided canals. The quantities of water that passes through in a day is gargantuan - about 20,000 times its own volume. So a few sea sponges, could possibly filter a sea within a day. Some sea sponges have become carnivorous due to lack of the food they would eat otherwise. They come from the family Cladorhizidae. These carnivorous sponges feed on tiny crustaceans.

Girl or Boy?
One of the sea sponge facts is that you cannot tell which one of them would rather the color blue and which one pink. As they are hermaphrodites which means they can have the characteristics of both male and female. The sea sponges release their sperm in the water to float in the sea currents. If they are then absorbed by another sea sponge by way if its collar cells, the fertilization takes place inside the sponge and the larvae that are expelled into the water. These have cilia or tiny hair in order to propel themselves and finally find a good place on the sea floor, conducive for their growth. Some sea sponges are asexual and produce gemmules and bud, break off to and settle elsewhere to form a clone of their parent.

Unbreakable!
Another one of the sea sponge facts is that if you were to break a sea sponge into two, underwater, its cells would reconstruct themselves and bring it back together.

Sponging Away Some Diseases
Sea sponges have as much iodine in them as a liter of sea water would have, which makes them, since the olden days in the time of the Greeks, the Romans and the Middle ages, useful for medicinal purposes. Iodine has an antiseptic and antibacterial effect on wounds and scars and so the sea sponges were used extensively for their cure. Scientists have taken to researching the sea sponge for anti-cancer properties. They are also used in making drugs for asthma.

The different types of sponges are the Tube Sponge, Vase Sponge, Yellow Sponge, Red Tree Sponge, Common Sea Squirt and Painted Tunicate.

Yet another one of the sea sponge facts is that dolphins have been known to use sea sponges in order to hunt for fish that hide in the floor of the sea and in order to protect their noses whilst doing so. Sea sponges will continue to populate the world longer than the human race will, so they aren't about to throw in the sponge just yet!