All adult sponges are sessile (they do not move).Ĩ. One family of sponges, the Cladorhizidae, feed on tiny crustaceans.ħ. Sponges are also now recognised as a vital carbon sink, absorbing carbon dioxide from the water.Ħ. Sponges excrete essential nutrients, and are extremely important nutrient sources in the marine ecosystem.ĥ. Sponges can filter a huge mount of water every day – roughly 20,000 TIMES their own volume.Ĥ. Sea sponges are “ filter feeders“, as they feed by actively filtering water through their pores, ingesting water-borne plankton and other simple microscopic life.ģ.

Sponges belong to the phylum Porifera, Latin for “pore-bearer”, which refers to the countless tiny openings, or “ ostia“, visible on all sponges.Ģ. Here are 17 fascinating facts about them.ġ.

Nevertheless, despite their seemingly uninteresting appearance, sponges are actually vital and dynamic creatures. They are often mistaken as corals or plants lacking the features we commonly associate with living animals, such as brains and hearts.

There are over 5,000 identified species – 200 of which can be found in fresh water. They have been present on Earth for around 500 million years. The sea sponge is one of the world’s simplest multi-cellular living organisms.

Sea sponges moving