genus
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
of
carnivorous
A carnivore , or meat-eater (Latin, ''caro'', genitive ''carnis'', meaning meat or "flesh" and ''vorare'' meaning "to devour"), is an animal or plant whose nutrition and energy requirements are met by consumption of animal tissues (mainly mu ...
family
Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...
Cladorhizidae. '' Neocladia'' was long considered a junior synonym, but recently become accepted as a distinct genus.
Thirty-three named species are placed in this genus at present, but at least two additional undescribed ones are known to exist, while some of the described ones are known only from a few specimens or (e.g. the enigmatic ''
Chondrocladia occulta
''Chondrocladia'', the ping pong ball sponges, is a genus of carnivorous Demospongiae, tree sponges of the family (biology), family Cladorhizidae. ''Neocladia (sponge), Neocladia'' was long considered a junior synonym, but recently become accepte ...
'') just a single one, and their validity and/or placement in ''Chondrocladia'' is doubtful. ''Chondrocladia'' sponges are stipitate, with a stalk frequently anchored in the substrate by rhizoids and an egg-shaped body, sometimes with branches that end in inflatable spheres.
Fossils
A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...
assignable to this genus are known since the
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene ( ; referred to colloquially as the ''ice age, Ice Age'') is the geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fin ...
, less than two million years ago. However, given its deep sea
habitat
In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...
, ''Chondrocladia'' may well have been around for much longer – it existed perhaps as early as the Mesozoic Era, as characteristic spicules (termed "microcricorhabds" or "trochirhabds"), almost identical to those of some living ''Chondrocladia'', are known from
Early Jurassic
The Early Jurassic Epoch (geology), Epoch (in chronostratigraphy corresponding to the Lower Jurassic series (stratigraphy), Series) is the earliest of three epochs of the Jurassic Period. The Early Jurassic starts immediately after the Triassicâ ...
rocks almost two hundred million years old.
Carnivory
These sponges gained media attention when a new
species
A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...
, a gourd-shaped carnivorous sponge, was featured in reports of finds off the coast of Antarctica. The new ''Chondrocladia'' was one of seventy-six sponge species identified in the seas off Antarctica by the Antarctic Benthic Deep-Sea Biodiversity Project (ANDEEP) between 2002 and 2005, conducted aboard the German research vessel '' Polarstern''.
Carnivorous sponges, which use hooked spicules to capture small
crustaceans
Crustaceans (from Latin meaning: "those with shells" or "crusted ones") are invertebrate animals that constitute one group of Arthropod, arthropods that are traditionally a part of the subphylum Crustacea (), a large, diverse group of mainly aquat ...
, have been known only since 1995, when '' Asbestopluma hypogea'', another genus of the family Cladorhizidae, was identified in
Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
) by Jean Vacelet and Nicole Boury-Esnault. Carnivory has since turned out to be common and typical for this sponge family. Unlike their relatives, ''Chondrocladia'' still possesses the water flow system and choanocytes typical of sponges, albeit highly modified to inflate balloon-like structures that are used for capturing prey.
Chondrocladia occulta
''Chondrocladia'', the ping pong ball sponges, is a genus of carnivorous Demospongiae, tree sponges of the family (biology), family Cladorhizidae. ''Neocladia (sponge), Neocladia'' was long considered a junior synonym, but recently become accepte ...
type species
In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...