In a succession of studies published this week and last month in the journals PeerJ and Zootaxa, researchers at Hawai'i Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB) Toonen-Bowen (ToBo) Lab, using a technique that explores both genes and structural characteristics, have introduced 10 new species of marine sponge. Despite their distinction as one of Earth's oldest lifeforms and the key role they play in sustaining coral reef ecosystems, marine sponges are vastly understudied.

Despite their distinction as one of Earth’s oldest lifeforms and the key role they play in sustaining coral reef ecosystems, marine sponges are vastly understudied.

Sponges are notoriously difficult to study, for a variety of reasons.