The common species of Euplectella is Euplectella aspergillum.
Euplectella Structure and Characteristics
The body is cylindrical and basket-like, which is attached to the bottom of the sea by a tuft of fibres
The skeleton is made up of triaxon spicules. The siliceous spicules give a glassy appearance to them
True Ostia are absent. Numerous perforations at the outer surface are parietal gaps
A well-connected canal system is present for water circulation. The canal system is synconoid. The incurrent canals are connected to radial canals and open into spongocoel inside the body and outside through osculum
There is a lining of choanocytes in the radial canal
A male and female pair of spongicolid shrimps live inside the body of the sponge throughout their lives. Their tiny offsprings come out and find another basket for themselves. Shrimp gets its food from the basket and in turn, cleans the basket from inside
They reproduce sexually as well as asexually
The glassy fibrous attachment of Euplectella to the ocean bed is being researched for fibre optics to make more sturdy optical fibres. These can also be used to make low cost and more efficient solar cells.