This curious little animal is a sponge! It belongs to the order Poecilosclerida and, unlike the filter-feeding sponges that passively capture prey items such as larvae or small crustaceans from the water column, these sponges are predatory. This one was seen during a 2016 Deepwater Exploration of the Marianas dive. Image courtesy of NOAA Ocean Exploration.
This week: a new method for assessing significant adverse impacts on VMEs, a deep dive into climate connectivity, and vote for your favourite mollusc!
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