A maroon Xestosponge, Sea Frost, delicate Black Coral, and a very unusual
Monaxial
Sponge.
Jackson Bay, Little Cayman Island - Depth 110 feet
or 34 meters
* The maroon sponge in the above
image is a large example of Xestosponge. It contains in
its folds lacy filaments of Black Coral (Antipathes sp.), and
supported by some of these filaments is a very unusual Monaxial Sponge (Monaxonida
sp.). This sponge is typically white, almost globular, and sports a
large number of thin glassy filaments. We seldom encounter
Monaxial
Sponges when diving, and only rarely are we able to find an environment
enabling us to isolate one. The large white mass is a colony of
Sea Frost, that is; of the the Colonial Serpulid Worm (Filograna
implexa). Jackson Bay, Little Cayman Island - Depth 110 feet or 34 meters |