Calyx nicaeensis Spugna Calice Goblet sponge www.intotheblue.it -2023-05-01-17h32m39s382
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03:21

Calyx nicaeensis Goblet Sponge

I met this Calyx nicaeensis, Goblet Sponge, during a dive in the reefs of the Secche di Vada near Livorno. The name owes it to its characteristic goblet shape. According to some experts, this sponge has become extremely rare in the Mediterranean because it requires very stable water temperature and biological conditions: small variations are enough to decree its disappearance. We all know by now that climate change has a heavy impact on biological life, but few seem to realize that it also affects the deep sea.
Spugna cornea Demosponge Porifera Demospongiae www.intotheblue.it -2021-11-26-18h23m18s099
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02:22

Demosponge

Demosponges are the most diverse class in the phylum Porifera. They include 76.2% of all species of sponges with nearly 8,800 species worldwide (World Porifera Database). Sponges, contrary to what one might think at first sight, are very simple multicellular animal organisms very similar in shape and appearance to plant organisms. There are no apparatus in the sponges and there is no trace of a nervous system.
Unknown marine organism – Organismo marino sconosciuto – www.intotheblue.it -2023-02-16-17h31m32s980
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03:47

Unknown marine organism

During a scuba dive in a beautiful Mediterranean coral reef of Savalia savaglia and Paramuricea clavata, at a depth between 72 and 76 meters, I met this unknown marine organism for the first time. Curiosity prompted me to carry out a series of searches to understand precisely what I was dealing with. Research has not yielded a satisfactory answer. The questions I asked myself were many. Based on my experience of many years of scuba diving it could be an animal belonging to the phylum Prorifera.
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02:46

Sea sponge Tedania anhelans

Tedania anhelans is a sea sponge that has an arborescent shape with colors that vary from transparent to light gray or dark gray depending on the conditions and depths of the environment in which it lives and personally I also add based on age: more pale in the juvenile phase or darker in the mature phase. It is present throughout the Mediterranean Sea at a depth ranging from 10 to over 100 meters on hard substrates, in rocky walls but also, as in our case, on Gorgonians and fishing nets abandoned for several years. In fact, the Tedania sponge reproduces very easily.
vlcsnap-2021-01-08-15h25m12s307
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04:04

Elephant Ear Sponge

The Elephant Ear Sponge, (Spongia agaricina, Spongia lamella), resembles a relatively flat bowl. In the lower part it narrows, to form the point of attachment to the rock. The measure ranges from 14 to 80 cm in diameter with a thickness ranging from 1 to 4 cm approximately. It is an endemic species of the Mediterranean Sea that generally lives at depths between 15 and 50 meters, but we can find it up to 150 meters deep.
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03:04

Common Antlers Sponge

The Axinella polypoides, is a species of sea sponge belonging to the Demospongiae class, family Axinellidae and at phylum Porifera. it's present throughout the Mediterranean Sea. It comes in the form of a sapling and lives at a depth ranging from 20 meters to over 300 meters.
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02:47

Common Antlers Sponge

Common Antlers Sponge, Axinella polypoides, is a species of sea sponge belonging to the Demospongiae class, family Axinellidae and at phylum Porifera. it's present throughout the Mediterranean Sea. ...
vlcsnap-2020-01-11-14h48m45s175
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01:53

Sponge Callyspongia ramosa

The sponge Callyspongia ramosa belongs  to the Porifera phylum, Demospongiae class, Haplosclerida order, Callyspongiidae family. Sponges, the members of the phylum Porifera are a basal Metazoa (animal) clade as a sister of the Diploblats. ...
La spugna Barile – The giant Barrel sponge – Xestospongia muta – intotheblue.it-2020-01-11-16h13m02s519
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01:08

Giant Barrel Sponge

Giant Barrel sponge (Xestospongia muta) is the largest species of sponge found growing on Carribean coral reefs. It is common at depths greater than 10 metres down to 120 metres and can reach a diameter of 1.8 metres. ...