Toilet sponge , or Greek sponge ( lat. Spongia officinalis ) [2] - a type of sponge used for commercial purposes. It is found in the Mediterranean Sea [3] [4] [5] [6] .
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| Spongia officinalis Linnaeus , 1759 [1] |
The toilet sponge is hermaphrodite and can reproduce both by budding and sexually. The living sponge has a dark gray color, after drying, it becomes yellow or brown. Sponge larvae are free-floating, but in the later stages of development they attach to the seabed or other suitable surface. Sponges grow quite slowly: it may take up to 40 years for a sponge to reach a size of 20 cm [7] .
Sponge extraction has led to a decrease in their population .
Content
Range
Mediterranean Sea, Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean, West Indies [4] .
In Culture
Since ancient times, a toilet sponge has been used for hygienic purposes. In addition, in ancient times, it was considered an ingredient used in witchcraft. Apuleius ' Metamorphoses "contains a story about a case when a sponge was used in a murder committed by a woman (sorceress) abandoned on the grounds of revenge. The sponge was used as a means of delaying the actual onset of death and, thus, ward off suspicion from the true killer [8] .
Notes
- ↑ Linnaeus, C. 1759: Systema naturæ per regna tria naturæ, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus II. Editio decima, reformata. - pp. [1-4], 825-1384. Holmiæ. (L. Salvii).
- ↑ Ivanova-Kazas O. M. “Invertebrates in mythology, folklore and art. - St. Petersburg: Publishing House of St. Petersburg. University, 2006. - S. 10. - 211 p. - ISBN 5-288-03826-0 .
- ↑ Laubenfels, MW de. 1953: A guide to the sponges of Eastern North America. University of Miami Press. 32p.
- ↑ 1 2 Díaz, Humberto, Bevilacqua, Marina & Bone, David (1985). Esponjas del Parque Nacional Morrocoy. Fondo Editorial Acta Científica Venezolana. Caracas. 64p.
- ↑ Cook, SDC, & Bergquist, PR 2002: Family Spongiidae Gray, 1867. Pp. 1051-1060. In Hooper, JNA & Van Soest, RWM (ed.) Systema Porifera. A guide to the classification of sponges. 1 (Kluwer Academic / Plenum Publishers: New York, Boston, Dordrecht, London, Moscow).
- ↑ Rützler, K., RWM van Soest. & C. Piantoni. 2009: Sponges (Porifera) of the Gulf of Mexico, Pp. 285-313 in Felder, DL and DK Camp (eds.), Gulf of Mexico-Origins, Waters, and Biota. Biodiversity. Texas A&M Press, College Station, Texas.
- ↑ Esponjas (Esponjas de baño). Pp: 111. 1980: En; Diccionario Monográfico del Reino Animal. Biblograf, SA España. ISBN 84-7153-385-5
- ↑ Ivanova-Kazas O. M. Invertebrates in mythology, folklore and art. - SPb. : Publishing House of St. Petersburg University, 2006. - S. 10-11. - 211 p. - ISBN 5-288-03826-0 .