Range: Eastern Pacific Ocean; Possibly elsewhere

Habitat: Outskirts of hydrothermal vent communities

Size: 20 inches (50cm) tall

Diet: Crustaceans, crinoids, and other animals

Threats: Possibly sea stars 

Lifespan: Unknown

Transcript:

Today on Animal Fact Files we’re discussing ping pong tree sponges. These fascinating creatures get their common name from their appearance. They look like a tree with ping pong ball leaves! They typically sport about sixteen of these spherical appendages, though other species, like the ones shown throughout most of this video, can have more! These sponges were originally described by science in 2006, though they were known before this. The US Navy believed they were deepsea, underwater Russian listening devices until they were discovered to be animals! While there are other sponges that appear similar to this species, the structures that form their bodies are different in shape. Still, it should be noted that deep sea sponge classification is in its infancy and the ping pong tree's sponge scientific name could change with new information.

Ping pong tree sponges have been observed in the eastern Pacific ocean typically between 8,500 and 9,850 feet (2,600-3,000m) in depth. They're known from the East Pacific Rise, but other species have been found elsewhere, like the Atlantic ocean and Gulf of Mexico. These sponges live on the outskirts of hydrothermal vent communities. Something that makes them stand apart from many other sponges is that they are carnivorous! Most sponges are filter feeders who eat detritus that cycles through their body via currents, but ping pong tree sponges, along with around thirty other species in their genus, catch crustaceans, crinoids, and other organisms on velcro-like spicules on their body. In the case of the ping pong tree sponge, these structures are concentrated on their ping pong globes and the digestive process is believed to take days. So instead of fun playthings, they're animal eating machines!

Unlike some other deep sea sponges, these invertebrates live in relatively close association with one another. They're hermaphroditic and it's likely, like other members of their genus, the ping pong shapes actually house their gametes, or sperm and eggs. The sperm are released into the water and travel to other ping pong tree sponge individuals to fertilize their eggs. These sponges have a free swimming larval stage until they settle on hard substrate on the seafloor and become sessile, or unmoving, much like a sea pen. There's still a lot to learn about these animals, so it's unknown how long they live as of this recording.

Some observations suggest sea stars could predate these sponges. It's possible that these invertebrates also attract worms who utilize the decomposing animals stuck to the sponge's globes as an easy food source, but more observation is needed. Surprisingly, these sponges aren't small! They reach about twenty inches (50cm) in height meaning they reach about to the average-sized person's knee while standing. That's taller than Chester! The ping pong shapes at the ends of their branches are believed to reach almost two inches (5cm) in diameter. 

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