''Aaptos kanuux'' is a species of
sea sponge belonging to the family
Suberitidae.
It is named after the Unangan/
Aleutian word for
heart
The heart is a muscular Organ (biology), organ found in humans and other animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels. The heart and blood vessels together make the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrie ...
.
Discovery
Greenpeace announced the discovery on April 28, 2008. It was discovered in the summer of 2007 while investigating deep sea canyons of the
Bering Sea
The Bering Sea ( , ; rus, Бе́рингово мо́ре, r=Béringovo móre, p=ˈbʲerʲɪnɡəvə ˈmorʲe) is a marginal sea of the Northern Pacific Ocean. It forms, along with the Bering Strait, the divide between the two largest landmasse ...
. Kenneth Lowyck discovered the new species while exploring the bottom of the canyon in a
DeepWorker 2000 DSV. George Pletnikoff, Greenpeace Alaska Ocean's Campaigner and an Aleut/Unangan from St. George Island was given the honor of naming the sponge and subsequently chose the Aleut/Unangan word for heart.
References
kanuux
Animals described in 2008
{{demosponge-stub