Irina Test Product

Test 6

Release Date: 12/04/2023

Backstage Notes:Carnivorous sponges, which use hooked spicules to capture small crustaceans, have been known only since 1995, when Asbestopluma hypogea, another genus of the family Cladorhizidae, was identified in Mediterranean sea caves offshore La Ciotat (France) by Jean Vacelet and Nicole Boury-Esnault.[10] Carnivory has since turned out to be common and typical for this sponge family

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Full Description:

Carnivorous sea sponges, primarily belonging to the family Cladorhizidae, are unique deep-sea predators that have evolved to hunt small crustaceans rather than filter-feeding like most sponges.  They inhabit oligotrophic (food-poor) deep-sea environments where traditional filter feeding is inefficient, utilizing specialized hooks, filaments, or sticky surfaces to entangle prey which they then engulf and digest. 

Key characteristics and species include:

• Feeding Mechanism: Unlike typical sponges, they possess a reduced or absent aquiferous system and instead use modified spicules to trap live prey, such as skeleton shrimp and copepods. 

• Notable Species: The harp sponge, discovered in 2012 off California, features a lyre-like structure with hooks; the “death-ball” sponge, found near Antarctica in 2025, is a spherical species covered in tiny hooks; and the ping-pong-tree sponge (Chondrocladia concrescens) features orbs at the ends of its stalks. 

• Habitat and Distribution: These sponges are found worldwide but are most common at great depths (e.g., 3,600m in the Southern Ocean or 10,000+ feet near California) on oceanic ridges and seamounts. 

• Evolutionary Context: Carnivory was first identified in 1995 with Asbestopluma hypogea in the Mediterranean, but it is now recognized as a common trait within the Cladorhizidae family, which contains over 175 species. 

Recent discoveries, such as the death-ball sponge confirmed in November 2025, highlight that the biodiversity of these deep-sea predators remains largely undocumented, with new species being regularly identified in remote regions like the Southern Ocean.