Sea sponges are animals! They have no brain, no stomach, and no heart. Their busy collar cells do the pumping and the eating.
Drag to turn it around. Use the buttons to zoom in and try things from the lessons.
The 3D model can't load right now. Check your internet connection, or try a different web browser.
A sea sponge sits in one spot its whole life, but it is still an animal. It has no organs at all: no brain, no heart, no stomach. Instead, it has different kinds of cells that share the work.
A sponge is full of holes and tunnels. Lining the inside are collar cells. Scientists call them choanocytes (say "ko-AN-oh-sites").
Sponges are one of the oldest kinds of animals on Earth.
Each collar cell has two special parts:
Thousands of tails waving together pull water in through the small holes in the sponge and push it out through a big hole at the top. As the water flows by, tiny bits of food get stuck on the collars, and the cells gobble them up.
Scroll up to the 3D model and press Wave the tail, then Pump water and Catch food.
Over 100 years ago, a scientist pushed a living sponge through a fine cloth, so it broke into tiny clumps of cells. Then something amazing happened. The cells crawled around, found each other, and began to build a new sponge!
Hold a kitchen sponge under water and squeeze it, then let go. Watch water rush in and out of all the holes. A sea sponge moves water through its holes all day long, using its collar cells instead of your hand!
Most kitchen sponges are made of plastic foam, but long ago people washed with the soft skeletons of real sea sponges.
By Smile and Learn - English. A fun video for kids.
Watch on YouTube →