December 23, 2024

Researchers Have Discovered Eight New Deep-Sea Species of Sponges

The brand-new deep-sea sponge species Geodia bibilonae from the Balearic Islands, called in honor of Dr. Maria Antònia Bibiloni, who was essential to start sponge research in the Balearic Islands in the 1980s. The sponge animals of the Western Mediterranean is one of the most studied in the world and yet, the tasting of new habitats in this region is generally an opportunity to expose new species.Docent Paco Cárdenas, sponge taxonomist and zoology curator at the Museum of Evolution at Uppsala University. With Docent Paco Cárdenas, sponge taxonomist and zoology curator at the Museum of Evolution, Uppsala University, they have focused on one specific large group of sponges, the tetractinellids, for which substantial comparative material is readily available in the collections of the Museum of Evolution.Before this study, only 16 of the 83 Mediterranean tetractinellid sponges had actually been tape-recorded in the Balearic Island area.