HONOLULU (AP) – Researchers in Hawaii have been absorbed by a sea creature they discovered last summer, and their findings are pretty big.
The team of scientists on a deep-sea expedition in the waters off Hawaii discovered what they say is the world’s largest known sponge.
The creature, roughly the size of a minivan, was discovered about 7,000 feet down in a marine conservation area off the shores of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. The rare sponge, with a bluish-white color and brain-like appearance, stunned scientists when it appeared in the remote cameras attached to their underwater rover.
Scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the University of Hawaii studied the sponge for about a year before releasing their findings.
“The largest portion of our planet lies in deep waters, the vast majority of which has never been explored,” said Papahanaumokuakea research specialist Daniel Wagner with NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries in a statement released Wednesday. “Finding such an enormous and presumably old sponge emphasizes how much can be learned from studying deep and pristine environments.”