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glass sponge
noun
: any of a class (Hexactinellida synonym Hyalospongiae) of chiefly deep-water siliceous marine sponges with 6-rayed spicules and a skeleton often resembling glass when dried
Examples of glass sponge in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
For example, the deep-sea glass sponge Monorhaphis chuni has been estimated to live over 2,000 years.
—Scott Travers, Forbes, 19 Sep. 2024
Some species of glass sponges can live for thousands of years.
—Scott Travers, Forbes, 19 Sep. 2024
Most notable among them was Charles Wyville Thomson, a Scotsman who in the 1860s hauled up glass sponges, sea spiders, and other curiosities—thus debunking a theory that the deep ocean was lifeless.
—Amy Brady, Scientific American, 20 June 2023
Among a bonanza of fossils, the married duo has cataloged 170 marine species, including glass sponges, crustaceans called horseshoe crab shrimp, and a six-legged arthropod that may have given rise to insects.
—Byscience News Staff, science.org, 4 May 2023
Other critters float around them, including anemones with 8-foot tentacles, rippling squidworms, glass sponges, and ghostly white Dumbo octopuses.
—WIRED, 28 Feb. 2023
Found almost 8,000 feet below the sea’s surface, The E.T. Sponge is a type of glass sponge.
—Allison Futterman, Discover Magazine, 5 Nov. 2021
And a 2017 study revealed that glass sponge reefs possess a distinct soundscape entirely their own.
—Sabrina Imbler, New York Times, 10 Nov. 2020
Besides the gigantic siphonophore, the explorers also found large groups of glass sponges and other species.
—Fox News, 14 Apr. 2020
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Word History
First Known Use
1875, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near glass sponge
Cite this Entry
“Glass sponge.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/glass%20sponge. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.
More from Merriam-Webster on glass sponge
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about glass sponge
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