''Advhena'' is a

monotypic genus In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispe ...

glass sponges Hexactinellid sponges are sponges with a skeleton made of four- and/or six-pointed siliceous spicules, often referred to as glass sponges. They are usually classified along with other sponges in the phylum Porifera, but some researchers consider ...

in the family

Euplectellidae Euplectellidae is a family of glass sponges (Hexactinellids) belonging to the order Lyssacinosa Lyssacinosida (also spelled Lyssacinosa) is an order of glass sponges (Hexactinellida) belonging to the subclass Hexasterophora. These sponges can ...

. It contains the single species ''Advhena magnifica'', also known as the E.T. sponge, after the titular character in the film ''

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'' (or simply ''E.T.'') is a 1982 American science fiction film, science fiction film produced and directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Melissa Mathison. It tells the story of Elliott Taylor, Elliott, a boy w ...

''.

Taxonomy

''Advhena magnifica'' was first found in 2016 by scientists on the '' NOAAS Okeanos Explorer'' on Pigafetta Guyot, east of the

Mariana Trench The Mariana Trench is an oceanic trench located in the western Pacific Ocean, about east of the Mariana Islands; it is the deep sea, deepest oceanic trench on Earth. It is crescent-shaped and measures about in length and in width. The maxi ...

at a depth of . Before description, it was thought to be in the genus ''

Bolosoma ''Bolosoma'' is a genus of pedunculated siliceous sponges belonging to the family Euplectellidae. This genus lives in deep-sea environments and provides a habitat for a plethora of other benthic species, giving ''Bolosoma'' an incredibly important ...

''. Its

holotype A holotype (Latin: ''holotypus'') is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of s ...

is numbered USNM 1424107 and was described in 2020. The genus name, ''Advhena'', is derived from the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

word ''advena'', meaning alien, due to its elongated head and neck and large "eyes." An "h" was added to the word to distinguish it from the gastropod genus '' Advena''. The specific epithet, ''magnifica'', is Latin for magnificent.

Description

This sponge has a somewhat flattened spherical body, with a large lateral opening on one side of the body measuring about . The body, which is in diameter, is held up by a lengthy peduncle longer than , at least four times the size of the body.

Spicules Spicules are any of various small needle-like anatomical structures occurring in organisms Spicule may also refer to: *Spicule (sponge), small skeletal elements of sea sponges *Spicule (nematode), reproductive structures found in male nematodes ( ...

in the

choanosome A choanosome is an inner region of a sponge, supported on the choanoskeleton, the structure that contains the choanocytes. See also * Choanoderm The choanoderm is a type of cell layer composed of flagellated collar cells, or choanocytes, f ...

are diactine, meaning that they have two arms.

Distribution

''Advhena magnifica'' is native to the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from1=Q101845069, from2=Q101851198 Hexactinellida Monotypic sponge genera Taxa described in 2020 Hexactinellida genera