Freshwater sponge

[stemturtle]

Freshwater sponge , phylum Porifera, possibly Spongilla. Length less than 6 inches or 15 cm.
Attached to a rock in a shallow river in Minnesota, the branches are pointing downstream.

While I am not aware of any toy replica of a freshwater sponge, Vauxia, a marine sponge figure, dates from 520 million years ago. 
Our friends at the Dinosaur Toy Forum would welcome us to visit the site.


Vauxia (Safari – Cambrian Life Toob). Height 2 3/8 inches or 6 cm.

[Newt]

Ooh, very nice! Whenever I come across freshwater sponges, they are utterly filthy, so its nice to see a clean one.

[stemturtle]

Thanks, Newt. The symbiotic green algae require sunlight.  Local ecologists consider freshwater sponges indicators of clean water.

[widukind]

Nice!!!!