Dysidea etheria

Dysidea etheria
A preserved specimen from the Caribbean
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Porifera
Class: Demospongiae
Order: Dictyoceratida
Family: Dysideidae
Genus: Dysidea
Species:
D. etheria
Binomial name
Dysidea etheria
Laubenfels, 1936

Dysidea etheria, commonly known as the ethereal sponge or heavenly sponge, is a species of lobate sponge within the class Demospongiae.[1] This marine sponge is known for its light blue color and can be found in the Caribbean as well as off the coasts of Florida and Georgia.[2] Like all other poriferans, D. etheria is capable of both sexual and asexual reproduction.[3] The use of spicule collection as well as chemical defenses allows D. etheria to protect itself against predators such as the zebra doris and the orange knobby star.[4][5] D. etheria is also known as a host species of the invasive brittle star Ophiothela mirabilis.[6] Lastly, various molecular biology studies have utilized D. etheria to both study foreign particle transport in sponges and to isolate novel molecules.[7][8][9]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Diaz M.C. (2011) Mangrove and coral reef sponge faunas: untold stories about shallow water Porifera in the Caribbean. In: Maldonado M., Turon X., Becerro M., Jesús Uriz M. (eds) Ancient Animals, New Challenges. Developments in Hydrobiology, vol 219. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-4688-6_15
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference :4 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference :6 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
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  8. ^ Gunasekera, Sarath P.; McCarthy, Peter J.; Kelly-Borges, Michelle; Lobkovsky, Emil; Clardy, Jon (1996-01-01). "Dysidiolide: A Novel Protein Phosphatase Inhibitor from the Caribbean Sponge Dysidea etheria de Laubenfels". Journal of the American Chemical Society. 118 (36): 8759–8760. doi:10.1021/ja961961+. ISSN 0002-7863.
  9. ^ Teragawa, Carolyn K. (1986-04-01). "Particle transport and incorporation during skeleton formation in a keratose sponge: dysidea etheria". The Biological Bulletin. 170 (2): 321–334. doi:10.2307/1541812. ISSN 0006-3185. JSTOR 1541812.