''Niphates digitalis'', commonly known as the pink vase sponge, is a species of

sea sponge Sponges, the members of the phylum Porifera (; meaning 'pore bearer'), are a basal animal clade as a sister of the diploblasts. They are multicellular organisms that have bodies full of pores and channels allowing water to circulate through th ...

belonging to the family Niphatidae. It is native to the Florida Keys,

The Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to 88% of the ar ...

, and the Caribbean including the Netherlands Antilles. The species was first described by

Jean-Baptiste Lamarck Jean-Baptiste Pierre Antoine de Monet, chevalier de Lamarck (1 August 1744 – 18 December 1829), often known simply as Lamarck (; ), was a French naturalist, biologist, academic, and soldier. He was an early proponent of the idea that biolo ...

in 1814.

Characteristics

The pink vase sponge is a

demosponge Demosponges (Demospongiae) are the most diverse class in the phylum Porifera. They include 76.2% of all species of sponges with nearly 8,800 species worldwide (World Porifera Database). They are sponges with a soft body that covers a har ...

that can grow up to 50 cm in height and width, but is more commonly smaller. It is normally vase-, tube-, or cup-shaped with a narrow base and broader top, and somewhat flattened when viewed in cross section. Rarely, it can grow as a fan shape. Despite its name, the colour has been observed as blue, gray, and lavender, as well as "purplish to pink". The surface is coarse and porous with 6-mm-long conules or spines.

Chemistry

Compounds extracted from the pink vase sponge have been investigated for their possible use in the treatment of castration recurrent prostate cancer. A common reagent used in organic chemistry

1,8-diazabicycloundec-7-ene 1,8-Diazabicyclo .4.0ndec-7-ene, or more commonly DBU, is a chemical compound and belongs to the class of amidine compounds. It is used in organic synthesis as a catalyst, a complexing ligand, and a non-nucleophilic base. Occurrence Although a ...

can be isolated from this sponge.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q569002 Haplosclerida Animals described in 1814 Taxa named by Jean-Baptiste Lamarck