Invertebrates
Bath Sponge
Spongia officinalis · also called Greek sponge
On a rocky ledge in the Aegean, a dark, lumpy bath sponge pumps water through hundreds of pores, as sponges have done for hundreds of millions of years.
Overview
The bath sponge, Spongia officinalis, is a Mediterranean sponge whose soft, elastic skeleton has been harvested for washing and padding since ancient times. Its pumping body, historic diving trade, and repeated declines from disease make it one of the best-known sponges in the world.
The animal in your bathroom
The sponge sold for bathing is the skeleton of a living animal, cleaned of its dark tissue and dried, a reminder that sponges are among the oldest animals on Earth.
Status
Not Evaluated, with Mediterranean stocks reduced.
Bath Sponge: common questions
Is a bath sponge an animal?
Yes, a sponge is an animal that filters its food from water, and the part sold for bathing is its cleaned, dried skeleton of soft fibres.
How is a bath sponge harvested?
Divers have collected it in the Mediterranean since ancient times, and sponge diving was long a major trade in places such as Greece.
Why have bath sponges declined?
Overharvesting and repeated disease outbreaks have reduced them in the Mediterranean.
Where is the bath sponge found?
It lives attached to rocky seabeds and in seagrass meadows of the Mediterranean, in shallow to moderately deep water.