While marine sponges are typically recognized as among the most rudimentary and least threatening marine organisms, a recently identified species appears intent on cultivating a more formidable reputation.
A predatory, aptly nicknamed “death-ball” sponge is featured among the thirty novel taxa discovered in the abyssal depths near Antarctica earlier this year, an undertaking by the Nippon Foundation–Nekton Ocean Census.
This newly cataloged species has been provisionally assigned to the genus Chondrocladia, a group colloquially referred to as ping pong ball sponges. Their superficial resemblance to clusters of interconnected spheres affixed to delicate stalks readily explains this appellation upon initial observation.
However, this seemingly innocuous facade conceals their true predatory nature. These sponges are adorned with microscopic barbs designed to ensnare unsuspecting diminutive prey, presumed to be crustaceans, that venture within their vicinity. Fortunately, unlike certain other recently documented sponge species, they do not subsist on organic detritus.
Initiated in 2023, the Nippon Foundation–Nekton Ocean Census is a scientific endeavor dedicated to enumerating previously unrecorded fauna inhabiting the largely unexplored Southern Ocean.
Earlier in the year, the Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) SuBastian documented these “death-ball” sponges at an impressive depth of 3,601 meters (11,814 feet), situated within a subaqueous trench to the east of Montagu Island, an islet belonging to one of Earth’s most isolated archipelagos.
These remarkable specimens were not the sole novel life forms brought to light by this expedition. The voyage also yielded the discovery of new species of polychaete worms adorned with shimmering exoskeletons, alongside previously unknown crustaceans and echinoderms.
Further significant outcomes of the mission include the acquisition of the inaugural video footage depicting a juvenile colossal squid, and the pioneering exploration of an entirely novel ecosystem concealed beneath a colossal iceberg that had detached from a glacier in West Antarctica.
While the fieldwork phase of the expedition has concluded, the comprehensive analysis of the gathered data is presently underway, according to the research team.
“The Southern Ocean continues to be profoundly under-surveyed,” states Michelle Taylor, Head of Science at the Ocean Census.
“To date, less than thirty percent of the specimens collected during this expedition have undergone assessment, thus confirming thirty new species already underscores the substantial amount of undocumented biodiversity that still exists.”
This latent biodiversity has been repeatedly indicated by scientific findings in recent years.
All definitively identified species resulting from the Ocean Census initiative will be systematically cataloged within an open-access data repository.
