Researchers find a new species of sponge in the Peruvian sea

A team of researchers has discovered a new species of sponges in the Peruvian sea. This finding constitutes the first record of the genus Ciocalypta for the Peruvian coast, as well as for the entire Eastern Pacific.

Thus, this new study contributes to the knowledge of the biodiversity of marine species of the national coastline in a context of biologists dedicated to the identification of species, says Baslavi Cóndor, professor at the Southern Scientific University and one of the authors of the work.

Sponges are animals that most people can barely recognize, but their study not only allows us to live in all oceans, but it could even open possibilities to develop new drugs.

The researcher explains that sponges are little studied in the country due to the small number of specialists in this group of animals. When collecting these animals, the sponges are considered ‘companion fauna’ and do not receive adequate attention.

“We still do not know exactly how many species we have, and we do not know the potential that they could offer us.”

The importance of knowing them more

The marine biologist explains that sponge research has multiple benefits, as their unique characteristics can teach us about various biological processes and provide

“Sponges are a good model to study evolution, for example, their adaptation to different environmental conditions. We can find sponges at all depths, and in various habitats, including polar and high Andean ecosystems, as well as both freshwater and marine environments. We are going to find that the sponges have structures adapted to each of these places ”.

Sponges also have a high regeneration potential.

“[Las esponjas tienen] cells similar to stem cells (‘stem cells’), capable of generating other cells. Then,This is interesting at the level of cell culture studies as it opens the doors for tissue engineering ”, the expert tells us.

“Due to their low mobility, these animals have a defense system based on the release of chemical substances, known as secondary metabolites. This is something that draws a lot of attention because if we review a little scientific literature on the active principles [de los medicamentos],”, ends.

Also participating in the study were Yessenia Arroyo, from UCSUR; Eduardo Hajdu, from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro; and Philippe Willenz of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Taxonomy and Phylogeny.

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