SPONGES OF THE OCEAN

Sponges get their food by filtering in water through their pores.

These are called spicules. They are needle-like parts that give the sponge it’s shape.

A sponge spends its life attached to rocks or other hard surfaces. Almost all of the 5,000 species of sponges live in salt water.

SPONGES COME IN MANY DIFFERENT SHAPES, COLORS,AND SIZES

Some sponges are microscopic in size and others can reach more than 7 feet in length!

Some sponges grow quite large. This barrel sponge is nearly large enough for the diver to climb right inside! Other barrel sponges get even bigger than this.

A CARTOON SPONGE!

Sponges are able to replace lost or injured body parts. This is called regeneration. The only way a sponge will die is if it gets knocked off its rock!

A few different shapes…

In this photograph, the pumping action of a sponge is illustrated. A non-toxic yellow dye has been squirted around the base of a purple tube sponge in the Caribbean. Shortly thereafter, the dye is pumped out through the osculum at the top of the sponge.

*Sponges drink 64 glasses of water a day. They have to pump one ton of water just to get enough food to grow one ounce! * A sponge the size of a gallon jug can pump enough water in one day to fill a backyard swimming pool! *The largest sponge ever found was in It weighed 85 lbs wet and 12 lbs dry! It is now in the National Museum of History in Washington, D.C. Some cool SPONGEY facts!

THE END! By: Marta Howard and Julie Hunt ~ Degan Elementary