Spicules bring light

Sponges, like all animals, possess some sort of a skeleton that gives their bodies shape. As a whole, poriferans have diverse skeletal elements including calcareous laminae, organic filaments, and siliceous and calcareous spicules. The skeletons of each of the major poriferan groups are distinctive and have been used to reconstruct their evolutionary relationships.

This is a second brief publication about spicules, but this image is completely different however; here the darkfield technique has been adapted, using a turret condenser.

Research has demonstrated that the spicules of certain deep-sea sponges have similar traits to optical fiber. In addition, these spicules have built-in lenses in the ends which gather and focus light in dark conditions. It has been theorized that this ability may function as a light source for symbiotic life forms which live inside some sponges. Spicules funnel light deep inside sea sponges. Anyhow, the spicules shown in this image bring quite some light into the scene.

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