A GIANT PROTOZOON WHO WANTED TO BE A CARNIVOROUS SPONGE
Oceana and the Centro de Estudios Avanzados de Blanes (CEAB-CSIC) have discovered in 2013 a new species: a unicellular organism of exceptional size (4-5 cm high), belonging to the phylum foraminifera, which imitates carnivorous sponges in its appearance and way of capturing food. The species was discovered 30 miles off the southeast coast of Spain, on the Seco de Palos seamount. Called Spiculosiphon oceana, in honour of the organisation that collected the samples, was published in the scientific journal Zootaxa, in collaboration with an author from the Centre d’Océanologie de Marseille.
Watch this video to learn more about Spiculosiphon oceana
