38/150: Soak up this info on sponges!

What is a sponge exactly? You probably thought it’s something you use for cleaning. These simple animals are without circulatory, digestive and nervous systems and have been around for over 500 million years! There are three kinds of sponges, glass sponges, calcareous sponges and demosponges and over 8,000 species. Featured for #Biodiversity150 is Dujardin’s slime sponge, Halisarca dujardini. It was named after him in 1842 as he was first to discover and describe it. This sponge is unique because it doesn’t contain spicules, which are a defining characteristic in the vast majority of sponges. Spicules help with the structure of the skeleton of sponges and are made of silicon dioxide (silica) or calcium carbonate. Instead H. dujardini is made up of primarily spongin, a collagen protein, that makes it “spongy” or fibrous. A unique use of sponges has been observed in bottlenose dolphins from Shark Bay, Western Australia. The dolphins use a sponge as protection on their rostrum as they forage for food on the bottom of the ocean. This behaviour is called sponging and mother dolphins have been observed teaching this to their daughters. #Canada150 #Biodiversity150

37/150: The real-life Cyclops

37/150: The real-life Cyclops

animalia: Arthropoda: Maxillopoda: Cyclopoida: Cyclopidae: Cyclops

Though the name might seem fitting for a monster, Cyclops is a small copepod that happens to share the same body characteristic of a single large eye on its head region with the mythological giant. Cyclops is found widely in freshwater regions and prefers the slow-moving and stagnant bodies of water. These omnivores feed on plants, animals and even carrion. Despite lacking in the size department, the cyclops copepod can still be quite threatening. Diseases such as the guinea-worm diseases and fish tapeworm infections have designated the cyclops to be their intermediary hosts, which have given rise to programs and projects focused on the elimination of these animals near human environments. #Canada150 #Biodiversity150

Unlike other copepods, the cyclops possesses a forked tail called a ‘furca’. Photo Credit: Leo Papandreou goo.gl/V546L7A cyclops copepod is shaped with a cylindrical body and a rounded head! Photo Credit: Great Lakes Image Collection goo.gl/M3yByZA female cyclops copepod is seen with eggs in her posterior region and a male cyclops copepod on her right. Photo Credit: J. Liebig, NOAA GLERL, 2000. goo.gl/PJlYaC