{{Short description|Genus of sponges}} {{Copyedit|date=March 2025}} {{Automatic taxobox | image = Venus Flower Basket.jpg | image_caption = ''Euplectella aspergillum'' | taxon = Euplectella | authority = Owen, 1841<ref>{{cite WoRMS |author= van Soest, R. |year= 2014|title= ''Euplectella'' Owen, 1841|id= 132114 |access-date= 2014-05-22|db=porifera}}</ref> | type_species = ''Euplectella aspergillum'' | subdivision_ranks = Species | subdivision = see text }}
'''''Euplectella''''' is a genus of glass sponges which includes the well-known Venus' Flower Basket. Glass sponges have a skeleton<ref>{{Cite web |title=Venus's flower basket {{!}} sponge {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/animal/Venuss-flower-basket |access-date=2022-04-11 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> made up of silica spicules that can form geometric patterns. These animals are most commonly found on muddy sea bottoms in the Western Pacific and Indian Oceans.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Venus's flower basket {{!}} sponge {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/animal/Venuss-flower-basket |access-date=2022-04-11 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> They are sessile organisms and do not move once attached to a rock.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Phylum Porifera {{!}} manoa.hawaii.edu/ExploringOurFluidEarth |url=https://manoa.hawaii.edu/exploringourfluidearth/biological/invertebrates/phylum-porifera |access-date=2022-04-12 |website=manoa.hawaii.edu}}</ref> They can be found at depths between 100 m and 1000 m but are most commonly found at depths greater than 500 m.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Soares |first=Beau McKenzie |title=Euplectella aspergillum |url=https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Euplectella_aspergillum/ |access-date=2022-04-24 |website=Animal Diversity Web |language=en}}</ref>
== Anatomy == ''Euplectella'' is a member of the class Sclerospongiae or glass sponges.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Students |first1=Keene State College |url=https://pressbooks.pub/tropicalmarinebio/chapter/organisms-in-coral-reefs/ |title=Phylum Porifera |last2=Biology |first2=BIO 381 Tropical Marine |language=en}}</ref> The body shape of ''Euplectella'' is cylindrical and vase-like with a hole located at the top of the cylinder structure.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Skeleton of Euplectella sp: Structural Hierarchy from the Nanoscale to the Macroscale |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/7741096 |journal= Science|year=2005 |language=en |doi=10.1126/science.1112255|last1=Aizenberg |first1=Joanna |last2=Weaver |first2=James C. |last3=Thanawala |first3=Monica S. |last4=Sundar |first4=Vikram C. |last5=Morse |first5=Daniel E. |last6=Fratzl |first6=Peter |volume=309 |issue=5732 |pages=275–278 |pmid=16002612 |bibcode=2005Sci...309..275A |s2cid=23897499 }}</ref> This tubular shape is referred to as asconoid.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ck12.org/book/ck-12-biology-advanced-concepts/section/15.5/|title = Welcome to CK-12 Foundation | CK-12 Foundation}}</ref> The inner structure of this animal is covered by a layer of choanocytes. These sponges are anchored to the seafloor by thousands of spicules, long glassy fibers that are covered with recurved barbs. Spicules provide high beam strength support for anchoring and strengthening the structure of this animal.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Monn |first1=Michael A. |last2=Weaver |first2=James C. |last3=Zhang |first3=Tianyang |last4=Aizenberg |first4=Joanna |last5=Kesari |first5=Haneesh |date=2015-04-21 |title=New functional insights into the internal architecture of the laminated anchor spicules of Euplectella aspergillum |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |language=en |volume=112 |issue=16 |pages=4976–4981 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1415502112 |issn=0027-8424 |pmc=4413295 |pmid=25848003|bibcode=2015PNAS..112.4976M |doi-access=free }}</ref> The skeleton is made of silica that is arranged in cylindrical lattice patterns. These patterns enable flexibility and resilience to damage.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Falcucci |first1=Giacomo |last2=Amati |first2=Giorgio |last3=Fanelli |first3=Pierluigi |last4=Krastev |first4=Vesselin K. |last5=Polverino |first5=Giovanni |last6=Porfiri |first6=Maurizio |last7=Succi |first7=Sauro |date=July 2021 |title=Extreme flow simulations reveal skeletal adaptations of deep-sea sponges |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-03658-1 |journal=Nature |language=en |volume=595 |issue=7868 |pages=537–541 |doi=10.1038/s41586-021-03658-1 |pmid=34290424 |bibcode=2021Natur.595..537F |s2cid=236176161 |issn=1476-4687|arxiv=2305.10901 }}</ref>
This species often has a symbiotic relationship with shrimp.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Xu |first1=Peng |last2=Zhou |first2=Yadong |last3=Wang |first3=Chunsheng |date=2017 |title=A new species of deep-sea sponge-associated shrimp from the North-West Pacific (Decapoda, Stenopodidea, Spongicolidae) |journal=ZooKeys |issue=685 |pages=1–14 |doi=10.3897/zookeys.685.11341 |issn=1313-2989 |pmc=5646664 |pmid=29089835|bibcode=2017ZooK..685....1X |doi-access=free }}</ref> One male and one female shrimp-like Stenopodidea breed and live inside the Venus Flower Basket, a member of the genus ''Euplectella.''<ref>{{Cite web |last=US Department of Commerce |first=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |title=What is a glass sponge? |url=https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/glass-sponge.html |access-date=2022-04-24 |website=oceanservice.noaa.gov |language=EN-US}}</ref> Stenopodidea offspring leave through holes in the sponge. Eventually if Stenopodidea become too large, they become trapped in the basket for the remainder of their lifetime.<ref>{{Cite web |last=US Department of Commerce |first=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |title=What is a glass sponge? |url=https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/glass-sponge.html |access-date=2022-04-12 |website=oceanservice.noaa.gov |language=EN-US}}</ref> The pair of Stenopodidea that live inside ''Euplectella'', clean it while the waste produced by ''Euplectella'' serves as food for the Stenopodidea.
== Reproduction == There is very little known about the reproduction of this species. It can reproduce sexually and asexually. Sea sponges have hermaphroditic properties.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Euplectella aspergillum |url=https://www.sealifebase.ca/summary/Euplectella-aspergillum.html |access-date=2022-04-12 |website=www.sealifebase.ca}}</ref> When conditions are unfavorable, sea sponges resort to asexual reproduction. This occurs through the presence of an ameobocyte on a deteriorating sponge. Once the deteriorating sponge is gone, the clump of cells remaining begins to grow a new sponge.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Soares |first=Beau McKenzie |title=Euplectella aspergillum |url=https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Euplectella_aspergillum/ |access-date=2022-04-12 |website=Animal Diversity Web |language=en}}</ref> In sexual sea sponge reproduction, gametes are released into the water by male sponges and are absorbed through the inhalant current of the female sponge. Fertilization occurs when the sperm reaches the ovum. The zygote experiences radial holoblastic cleavage and eventually forms free-flowing larvae which develop into a new sponge.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=W. |first1=R. B. |last2=Bayer |first2=F. M. |last3=Owre |first3=H. B. |date=April 1968 |title=The Free-Living Lower Invertebrates |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/3224459 |journal=Transactions of the American Microscopical Society |volume=87 |issue=2 |pages=273 |doi=10.2307/3224459 |jstor=3224459 |issn=0003-0023|url-access=subscription }}</ref>
== Diet == ''Euplectella'' are filter feeders.<ref>{{Cite web |title=CK12-Foundation |url=https://flexbooks.ck12.org/cbook/ck-12-middle-school-life-science-2.0/section/9.2/primary/lesson/sponges-ms-ls/ |access-date=2022-04-12 |website=flexbooks.ck12.org}}</ref> Water is drawn into their central cavity through holes in the sides of the sponge. Organic debris and microscopic organisms are absorbed through this process.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Venus's flower basket {{!}} sponge {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/animal/Venuss-flower-basket |access-date=2022-04-12 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> They consume bacteria and small plankton.<ref>{{Cite web |last=US Department of Commerce |first=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |title=What is a glass sponge? |url=https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/glass-sponge.html |access-date=2022-04-24 |website=oceanservice.noaa.gov |language=EN-US}}</ref>
== Life cycle == ''Euplectella'' experiences two main life stages: the larval stage and the adult stage. In the larval stage, the larvae are free-flowing in the water. This type of larva is considered trichimella due to its free-swimming nature.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Euplectella aspergillum |url=https://www.sealifebase.ca/summary/Euplectella-aspergillum.html |access-date=2022-04-24 |website=www.sealifebase.ca}}</ref> Eventually, the larvae attach to rocks and metamorphose into a sea sponge. In the adult stage, ''Euplectella'' are sessile and attached firmly to rocks through spicules.<ref>{{Cite web |title=sponge - Natural history {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/animal/sponge-animal/Natural-history |access-date=2022-04-14 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> It is unclear how long ''Euplectella'' generally live; other genera of glass sponge have been known to live up to 15,000 years in the wild.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hexactinellid sponge (Scolymastra joubini) longevity, ageing, and life history |url=https://genomics.senescence.info/species/entry.php?species=Scolymastra_joubini |access-date=2022-04-24 |website=genomics.senescence.info}}</ref> Although the intricate skeleton of ''Euplectella'' provides some protection from predation, starfish are known to eat them.<ref>{{Cite web |last=US Department of Commerce |first=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |title=What is a glass sponge? |url=https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/glass-sponge.html |access-date=2022-04-24 |website=oceanservice.noaa.gov |language=EN-US}}</ref> ==Species== {{div col}} *''Euplectella aspera'' *''Euplectella aspergillum'' *''Euplectella crassistellata'' *''Euplectella cucumer'' *''Euplectella curvistellata'' *''Euplectella gibbsa'' *''Euplectella imperialis'' *''Euplectella jovis'' *''Euplectella marshalli'' *''Euplectella nobilis'' *''Euplectella nodosa'' *''Euplectella oweni'' *''Euplectella paratetractina'' *''Euplectella plumosa'' *''Euplectella sanctipauli'' *''Euplectella semisimplex'' *''Euplectella simplex'' *''Euplectella suberea'' *''Euplectella timorensis'' {{div col end}} ==References== {{Reflist}}
==Further reading== * {{cite journal |last1=Falcucci |first1=Giacomo |last2=Amati |first2=Giorgio |last3=Fanelli |first3=Pierluigi |last4=Krastev |first4=Vesselin K. |last5=Polverino |first5=Giovanni |last6=Porfiri |first6=Maurizio |last7=Succi |first7=Sauro |title=Extreme flow simulations reveal skeletal adaptations of deep-sea sponges |journal=Nature |date=July 2021 |volume=595 |issue=7868 |pages=537–541 |doi=10.1038/s41586-021-03658-1 |pmid=34290424 |bibcode=2021Natur.595..537F |s2cid=236176161 |arxiv=2305.10901 }}
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Category:Hexactinellida genera Category:Hexactinellida