Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-02-11
GLASS SPONGES.
beautiful Specimen Recently Found
on the Coast of California.

From the Scientific American.
1t is not generally known that the beau
tiful animals known as glass sponges are
found within the borders of the United
States, yet one species at least is common,
though rarely taken, off the coast of the
southern California islands, especially on
the so-called grouper banks of Santa Cata-
lima, where fishing is carried on in water
five hundred or six hundred feet deep.
1t was here that an attractive specimen
was found, being brought up by a fish
hook. The sponge was a species of Hol-
tenia. probably Holtenia Carpenteria, about
twelve inches in height and nearly six in
diameter. The long glass-lke roots had
been torn off when it was brought up. In
appearance the sponge was a veritable por-
curne, long needle-like spicu!es standing
out all over it, the longest three inches in
length, needles so sharp and brittle that
it was difficult to hold or touch the sponge,
and at a glance it resembled some odd or
fanciful cactus.
The sponge was vase-shaped, and would
hold three pints of fluid, bullying out in the
center, with an opening at the top suffi-
GENTLY large to admit the closed hand. The
lCng spicuieS reaching out from it pre-
scented a splendid appearance when held up
to the sun, and resembled glossy hairs,
cleaning and scintillating wherever the sun
flashed along their surfaces. Many of the
coralline SO that they appeared branched
like the limbs of tree. In these mimic
branches hung pendent many miniature
pink-hued star fishes and shrimps, while
fastened to them, coiled and interlaced,
were the barrow-like egg cases of a skate.
That these sponges are fairly common In
deep alter off-shore is evident by the small
specimens often brought up and the pieces
found on the outer islands, especially San
Nicolas; but never before has SO large and
perfect specimen been seen.
The glass sponges are called because
their skeleton, or the spicules, resemble
glass, being formed of silica instead of
| lime, ard closely resembling spun glass.
The most beautiful of the group IS the
Venus flower basket, or Euplecteila asper-
gillum, which represents a vase of spun
glass of the most beautiful description.
When the first specimen was found ii was
| sold at fabulous price,. and its true ma
| ture was not suspected. But finally spec
linen was taken by naturalist, who made
| the interesting discovery that the delicate
| and fragile glass-like vase, that seemed to
| be the work of some cunning East Indian,
| was nothing mere nor less than the skele-
| ton of a sponge whose spicules were sill
! cious. In the water and alive the sponge
| is not attractive object being of gray
| color and half buried in the mud, anchored
| by long glass-like streamers. But once
| dead and relieved of its covering, it be-
| comes one of the most Respondent objects
of the sea-a fairy vase that might well
have been modelled by the sea gods as a
gift to Venus.
This sponge has the spicues so arranged
| that they present the appearance of
squares. 1t is closed at the top and sides,
! hollow in the interior, and Is occasionally
| the prison of small crustaceans, which en-
ter the interstices when very young. and,
unable to escape, become prisoners for life,
| and in the skeleton may be seen with their
claws protruding through the opening,
creating much wonder among the unin-
itiated as to how they obtained ingress into
the CLASSY prison.
Another Interesting glass sponge is Hy-
elcnema, which resembles a glass rope
The sponge itself is small cup, perched
upon a long series of glass-fke stems,
which Is buried in the mud. This was for a
long time sold as the skeleton of the little
coral polyps which are parasites on its
stems