Strange sponge takes advantage of the melting in Antarctica

Scientists are closely monitoring a vitreous sponge, which grows slowly and whose colonies date back to 10,000 years, and are rapidly invading Antarctic areas once covered by ice.

The report is included in an article published on Friday in the journal Current Biology, which explains that the vitreous sponge, or Hexactinellida, are a class of porifera (an invertebrate aquatic animal with te shaoe of a sac or tube  with a single opening) from which 500 species are known.

Biologists believe that their growth is so slow that a set of two meters could date a hundred centuries or more, but the observed growth is now much faster than was thought possible.