![]() ![]() ![]() It is a long process between when we first see a specimen and when we can give it a name. How did you know you’d found a new type of sponge? Collins. Image courtesy of Cristiana Castello Branco. At the time of the sponge discovery, Cristiana was a PhD student at NMNH being supervised by NOAA Fisheries’ Dr. Allen Collins, Director of the NOAA Fisheries National Systematics Laboratory located at NMNH.Ĭristiana prepares to enter the human occupied vehicle, for a dive. sponge.” She is studying under the guidance of Dr. Cristiana Castello Branco, a postdoctoral researcher who made the discovery of the “E.T. It was sent to the NMNH for long-term care and study by researchers, setting the stage for this exciting-and charismatic-discovery. In 2016, while exploring a seamount many miles to the west near the Mariana Trench, a sample of the sponge had been collected. Turns out that this wasn’t the first time that scientists exploring via Okeanos Explorer had encountered this unusual sponge. They're oddly reminiscent of the large eyes of the alien from the beloved movie, E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial. ![]() Rising high on a stalk, this sponge had a body with two large holes. Chris Mah of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) dubbed the scene the “Forest of the Weird.” That was due to the diversity of prominent sponges rising up on stalks with their bodies oriented to face the predominant current carrying tiny food particles.Īmong the different sponges within this alien-like community was one that could not be missed. On July 25, 2017, while exploring a seamount during an expedition on NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer, a team of deep-ocean explorers came upon an extraordinary seascape. ![]()
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