The newly-discovered carnivorous demosponge species. Image credit: Merrick Ekins & John Hooper, doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.5293.3.2.

Sergio Prostak, Marine Biologists Discover Three New Species of Carnivorous Sponges, 26 June 2023

Scientists from Queensland Museum have described three new species of carnivorous demosponges from the Great Barrier Reef, in Queensland, Australia.

The newly-identified species are members of Cladorhizidae, a family of carnivorous demosponges that inhabit deep-sea environments worldwide.

First described by the British zoologist George Hartwig in 1887, cladorhizids are typically found on oceanic ridges and seamount systems.

These sponges are known for their unique feeding structures and predatory behavior: they attach to the seafloor and extend their feeding structures into the water column to capture passing prey — small animals such as crustaceans.

Named Abyssocladia falkor, Abyssocladia jeanvaceleti and Axoniderma wanda, the three new species were collected by a remote operated vehicle (ROV) in September 2020.

“It was surreal to be sitting at my desk at the museum during 2020 and directing ROV pilots to collect specimens, which appeared to be new species,” said co-author Dr. Merrick Ekins, a researcher at Queensland Museum.

“The sponges were collected as part of the Schmidt Ocean Institute’s research vessel Falkor in September 2020, which sent a ROV 1,820 m below the surface to explore the deep reefs of the Great Barrier Reef.”

“The Schmidt Ocean Institute voyage ‘Seamounts, Canyons & Reefs of the Coral Sea Cruise’ was in 2020 and there was a lot of uncertainty with regards to traveling during the COVID pandemic.”

“It was thrilling to still be part of this expedition remotely.”

Dr. Ekins and his colleagues, Queensland Museum’s Dr. John Hooper, named Abyssocladia falkor in honor of the research vessel and Abyssocladia jeanvaceleti in honor of the scientist who first described carnivorous sponges.

While for the third they had a bit of fun and named it Axoniderma wanda in honor of the alien wanderer/wanda that parasitizes the host Melanie Stryder in the movie and novel, The Host, by Stephenie Meyer.

“More is known about the surface of Mars than the deep oceans,” said Queensland Museum Network CEO Dr. Jim Thompson.

“There is still much to learn about our deep oceans and being part of global research projects only enhances our knowledge.”

“The ability for our scientists to be involved in research projects such as this is testament to the depth and breadth of expertise of the Queensland Museum Network team.”

“Our collaborative approach to research for the benefit of the scientific community.”

The team’s paper was published in the journal Zootaxa.

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Merrick Ekins & John N.A. Hooper. 2023. New carnivorous sponges from the Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, Australia collected by ROV from the RV FALKOR. Zootaxa 5293 (3): 435-471; doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.5293.3.2