“Most people are familiar with the soft, squishy bath sponge but few will have touched the brittle, fingered goblet glass sponge. Its scaffold structure is primarily made from silica (SiO2). The glass sponge builds beautiful glass sculptures and form large reef ecosystems in deep waters off the BC coastline. Thought to have gone extinct with the dinosaurs, glass sponge reefs were discovered in 1987. A true treasure trove, the fingered goblet sponge is valued as a foundation species of these ecosystems, providing habitat for many amazing animals, including spot prawns and rockfishes. Spectacular!!”

Sheila Byers, Museum Interpreter at the Beaty Biodiversity Museum.