The Heavenly Sponge:
Dysidea etheria, otherwise known as the Heavenly Sponge, was first discovered by De Laubenfels in 1936. The outside appearance of the sponge is filled with sharp conules of about 1 mm in height and 2 mm apart. The skeletal structure of the Heavenly Sponge is composed of a spongin fiber mesh-work densely filled with foreign material (sand grains and spicule fragments) with no native spicules. The internal architectural is a framework of meshes variable, from rectangular to rounded. Clear primary fibers (140-370 μm across) loaded with foreign material. Smaller secondary fibers (30-260 μm across) not distinct, containing less foreign material, and with free spongin chiefly at fiber junctions, clearly stratified. The species itself is mostly located in shallow reefs near Florida, Cuba, and the Carribean. It is classified as a metozoan lifeform.