That Moogle

CRITICALLY ENDANGERED GIANT SPONGE REDISCOVERED IN CAMBODIA

More than 100 years after it was last seen, the giant Neptune’s cup sponge (Cliona patera) was rediscovered off the coast of southern Singapore in 2011. Now, a survey conducted by Fauna & Flora International (FFI) have identified the first official record of this very endangered species in Cambodia. Until its rediscovery in Singapore the species was widely considered to be extinct.

First described to science in 1822, the giant Neptune’s cup sponge were used as tubs for babies. But their giant size made them valuable to collectors around the world and they were overharvested until they disappeared from Singapore in the 1870s. The last time living sponges were seen was 1908, when collectors found some in West Java, Indonesia. The species was then thought to be extinct.

-  A Neptune’s cup sponge used as a child’s bath. Credit: F. C. van Heurn (c. 1925)

Unlike many sponges, which tend to anchor themselves on reefs, Neptune’s cups are found on sandy bottoms. This habitats is also favoured by many seahorse species, which is the reason why these giant sponge where found during FFI’s field works. In fact, Koh Rong Sanloem and Koh Koun, the islands closest to where this particular Neptune’s cup specimen was found, are hotspots for seahorses, with six out of the seven seahorse species confirmed to date within Cambodian water are present at these sites. Researchers believe that number could rise to seven.

Cambodia’s coastline supports a wealth of marine biodiversity and a growing coastal population that is heavily dependent on these resources. The neptune’s cup discovery is not only significant in its own right, but also because marine life found there have the potential to thrive when protected from commercial trawling, which can have a devastating impact on the seabed.

Neptune’s cup sponge. Credit: Marianne Teoh/FFI

Source: Flora & Fauna International

Finally updated the vintage Ladybug and Chat Noir posters! I fixed the french to be more accurate (thank you to all who wrote in) along with some other minor issues. 

Name something better than Sokka getting chi blocked

the party got… attached.

they lugged that statue back with them when they left the shipwreck, even though they were being chased by a sea serpent. they brought it back to the inn where they were staying. in-character, they started seeking out all the information they could about this silly throwaway goddess.

out of character, they started flooding the group chat with lobster memes.