Glass Sponge Reef

Hexactinellida

Glass sponge reefs are incredibly rare, so rare and so hard to find, in fact, that they were thought to have gone extinct 40 million years ago until 1987 when they were found by accident. The reefs in the Hecate Strait and Charlotte Sounds are the most pristine and the largest. They are 9000 years old and over 1,000 sq km (620 sq miles). Others have been found in the Strait of Georgia, Howe Sound and Chatham Sound.

Characteristics

Glass sponges are animals, although they do not move or have eyes and a mouth. The glass sponge gets its name because it is mostly made up of silica dioxide, which is the same component that makes up glass. These unique sponges can grow up to a metre in diameter…

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