Freshwater Sponge facts: they were once considered plants | Animal Fact Files

There are approximately 200 living species of these delicate sponges. They appear in clean water systems like lakes and slow moving streams. Freshwater sponges have a green appearance due to algae that live on them but they can also appear brown, beige, and white. Freshwater sponges are porous and might seem slimy like algae since they come in a similar color, but they're quite coarse. Freshwater sponges look like plants but they eat other organisms to survive and can't produce their own energy - so they're animals!

Scientific Name: Family - Spongillidae
Range: clean, clear water systems throughout the world
Size: 1-4cm thick (up to 1.5inches); more than 3 feet (91cm) across (or much, much smaller)
Diet: planktonic organisms and nutrients from symbiotic algae
Lifespan: potentially indefinite through asexual reproduction

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Credits via Youtube:
Krzysztof Lewinski - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNgbx1a1Xkg
MicrophonicFool - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akeUz5ryPos

Credits via Flickr:
Dr Mary Gillham - https://www.flickr.com/photos/marygillhamarchiveproject/37737816912
Heikki Rauhala - https://www.flickr.com/photos/hvrauhal/7670515968; https://www.flickr.com/photos/hvrauhal/7670494456

Credits via Wiki Users:
Kirt L. Onthank - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Spongilla_lacustris.jpg
Lamiot - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gemmules_Spongilla_lacustris_438.JPG; https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gemmules_Spongilla_lacustris_2014-10-31_a568.JPG; https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gemmules_Spongilla_lacustris_DSCN4463.JPG; https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gemmules_Spongilla_lacustris_2014-11-16_a_3722.JPG; https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gemmules_Spongilla_lacustris_2014-11-16_a_3723.JPG; https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gemmules_Spongilla_lacustris_DSCN4474.JPG; https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gemmules_Spongilla_lacustris_2014-10-31_a574.JPG; https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gemmules_Spongilla_lacustris_2014-11-16_a_3721.JPG; https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gemmules_Spongilla_lacustris_2014-11-16_a_3724.JPG; https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gemmules_Spongilla_lacustris_2014-11-16_a_3727.JPG; https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gemules_grande_Spongilla_lacustris_2014-11-10.jpg; https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pseudof%C3%A8ces_moules_z%C3%A9br%C3%A9es_sur_spongilla_lacustris_2014_10_02.jpg; https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%C3%89ponge_d%27eau_douce_Spongilla_lacustris_Authie_Lamiot_2017a_10.jpg; https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%C3%89ponge_d%27eau_douce_de_forme_complexe_Spongilla_lacustris_F_Lamiot_2017_05.jpg; https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%C3%89ponge_d%27eau_douce_de_forme_complexe_Spongilla_lacustris_F_Lamiot_2017_06.jpg; https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%C3%89ponge_d%27eau_douce_de_forme_complexe_Spongilla_lacustris_F_Lamiot_2017_03.jpg; https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%C3%89ponge_d%27eau_douce_Authie_Lamiot_2017a_04.jpg; https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Spongilla_lacustris_%C3%A9ponge_d%27eau_douce_Authie_Lamiot_2017a_09.jpg

Other attributions:
seawildearth - https://vimeo.com/56526602
ROV Innovations - https://vimeo.com/103309904


Websites used for research collection:
https://www.britannica.com/animal/freshwater-sponge
https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=47691#null
https://www.nps.gov/articles/freshwater-sponges.htm
https://fortress.wa.gov/ecy/gisresources/lakes/AquaticPlantGuide/descriptions/bryozoan.html
https://phys.org/news/2019-03-clues-freshwater-sponges.html
http://fieldguide.mt.gov/speciesDetail.aspx?elcode=IZSPN14010
https://www.indefenseofplants.com/blog/2016/8/9/freshwater-sponges
http://fwp.mt.gov/mtoutdoors/HTML/articles/portraits/2012/sponges.htm
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/ivb.12258
https://www.google.com/books/edition/Ecology_and_Classification_of_North_Amer/iOI9ifbikoQC
https://www.google.com/books/edition/Tracking_Environmental_Change_Using_Lake/hurdBgAAQBAJ
https://www.google.com/books/edition/Identification_Guide_of_Freshwater_Macro/-mm5rt6IRxwC
https://www.google.com/books/edition/Pennak_s_Freshwater_Invertebrates_of_the/GqIctb8IqPoC


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**changes were made to the original