A Report of Freshwater Sponge Eunapius Carteri (Bower Bank, 1863) from Bird Sanctuary of Thattekkad, Kerala

Abstract

Sponges are filter feeding aquatic invertebrates, and species belonging to the family Spongillidae, and are the important members of the freshwater ecosystem. Eunapius carteri is a common inhabitant of fresh water ecosystem and it is the first record of the same from Thattekkad Bird Sanctuary. Eunapius carteri is roughly circular in shape. Dried specimens are pale to dark yellow, whereas colour of live specimens ranges from yellow to green. Surface is mostly irregular, thrown into stubby projections with broad base and often interrupted by large oscula measuring 1cm in diameter. Gemmule is white in colour, circular in outline and has a diameter up to 0.55mm. They are generally They have tough and resilient gemmule that can survive extreme temperature with or without water. So they able to live in different habitats with fluctuating environmental conditions Colonies of this species produce many bioactive compounds with proven biomedical potentials. So this new resource may be utilized in ‘wonder drug’ research in future.

Key words: Thattekkad Bird Sanctuary(TBS), fresh water sponge, Eunapius carteri

Cite this Article

Ambily C.B., Mohandas A, Rajathy S., Sugathan R. A Report of Freshwater Sponge Eunapius Carteri (Bower Bank, 1863) From Bird Sanctuary of Thattekkad, Kerala. Research & Reviews: Journal of Ecology. 2019; 8(1): 1–6p.