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Sponges
Some groups of marine animals are still very poorly known, especially sponges and sea squirts. Sponges in particular often cannot be identified from living material because their external appearance is not known - having been named originally from preserved material which had lost its colour after death, when stored either dry or immersed in alcohol. Photography of specimens before they are collected is now filling some of these gaps in our knowledge. There are about 200 sorts of sponges in Northern Ireland waters - but none is suitable for commercial use as a bath sponge!
Object of the Month/Hymedesmia (a new species)
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Image: Yellow finger sponge, Axinella dissimilis, Skerries, Portrush, Co. Antrim