Uploaded November 2017 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
This sponge has a length of about 9" (23 cm). We are amazed by the intricate architecture of the glass strands and the complexity that this seemingly "primitive" organism creates.
Modified from wikipedia: The Venus' flower basket (Euplectella aspergillum) inhabits the deep ocean. In traditional Asian cultures, this particular sponge (in a dead, dry state) was given as a wedding gift because the sponge symbiotically houses two small shrimp, a male and a female, who live out their lives inside the sponge. The shrimp breed, and when their offspring are tiny, they escape to find a new Venus' flower basket of their own. The shrimp inside the basket clean it and, in return, the basket provides food for the shrimp by trapping it in its tissues and then releasing wastes into the body of the sponge for the shrimp. In Japan, this symbiotic relationship symbolizes the idea of "till death do us part". Venus' flower baskets were also extremely popular in Victorian England.
This sponge has a length of about 9" (23 cm). We are amazed by the intricate architecture of the glass strands and the complexity that this seemingly "primitive" organism creates.
Modified from wikipedia: The Venus' flower basket (Euplectella aspergillum) inhabits the deep ocean. In traditional Asian cultures, this particular sponge (in a dead, dry state) was given as a wedding gift because the sponge symbiotically houses two small shrimp, a male and a female, who live out their lives inside the sponge. The shrimp breed, and when their offspring are tiny, they escape to find a new Venus' flower basket of their own. The shrimp inside the basket clean it and, in return, the basket provides food for the shrimp by trapping it in its tissues and then releasing wastes into the body of the sponge for the shrimp. In Japan, this symbiotic relationship symbolizes the idea of "till death do us part". Venus' flower baskets were also extremely popular in Victorian England.
