CRITICALLY ENDANGERED GIANT SPONGE REDISCOVERED IN CAMBODIAMore than 100 years after it was last see

CRITICALLY ENDANGERED GIANT SPONGE REDISCOVERED IN CAMBODIAMore than 100 years after it was last seen, thegiant Neptune’s cup sponge (Cliona patera) was rediscovered off the coast of southern Singapore in 2011. Now, a survey conducted by Fauna & Flora International (FFI) have identified the first official record of this very endangered species in Cambodia. Until its rediscovery in Singapore the species was widely considered to be extinct.First described to science in 1822, the giant Neptune’s cup sponge were used as tubs for babies. But their giant size made them valuable to collectors around the world and they were overharvested until they disappeared from Singapore in the 1870s. The last time living sponges were seen was 1908, when collectors found some in West Java, Indonesia. The species was then thought to be extinct.-  A Neptune’s cup sponge used as a child’s bath. Credit: F. C. van Heurn (c. 1925)Unlike many sponges, which tend to anchor themselves on reefs, Neptune’s cups are found on sandy bottoms. This habitats is also favoured by many seahorse species, which is the reason why these giant sponge where found during FFI’s field works. In fact, Koh Rong Sanloem and Koh Koun, the islands closest to where this particular Neptune’s cup specimen was found, are hotspots for seahorses, with six out of the seven seahorse species confirmed to date within Cambodian water are present at these sites. Researchers believe that number could rise to seven.Cambodia’s coastline supports a wealth of marine biodiversity and a growing coastal population that is heavily dependent on these resources. The neptune’s cup discovery is not only significant in its own right, but also because marine life found there have the potential to thrive when protected from commercial trawling, which can have a devastating impact on the seabed.Neptune’s cup sponge. Credit: Marianne Teoh/FFISource: Flora & Fauna International[Image description: A Neptune’s cup sponge on the sandy bottom of the ocean. One fish is near.]  -- source link
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