Researchers identify nine new deep-sea sponge species off Alaska
Researchers identified nine previously undescribed sponge species from the Gulf of Alaska and Aleutian Islands, NOAA announced.
The specimens came from NOAA Fisheries bottom-trawl surveys, including samples collected as early as 2012, and were analyzed for two recent scientific papers. NOAA said the findings raise Alaska's known sponge-species count to 232.