Saetaspongia densa

3D Model

Yunnan Province, China, ~518 million years old.

Like many modern sponges, Saetaspongia had a skeleton made up of numerous small multi-rayed spicules. It stayed stationary on the sea floor, feeding on microscopic particles of food filtered from large volumes of water pumped through its body. The opening at the top of the sponge allowed water out after being filtered.

Created for the First Animals exhibition at Oxford University Museum of Natural History: www.oum.ox.ac.uk/firstanimals

Model by Mighty Fossils: www.mightyfossils.com