Sponge
Cobscar Spoil Heaps
Sponge. Possibly Hyalostelia. Sponges are simple, multicellular animals. Larvae are motile, but adults remain fixed to a substrate. They feed mainly on bacteria and other micro-organisms. They are believed to be at the base of the evolutionary tree for multicellular animals. As fossils, they pre-date the Cambrian Period. Those at Redmire are found in Carboniferous limestone and were, therefore, tropical.
Photograph detail
Slide 1: Sponge, possibly Hyalostelia. Limestone. Collected from lead mining spoil heap. Cobscar Rake, Redmire Moor. January.
Slide 2: Sponge, possibly Hyalostelia. Limestone. Collected from lead mining spoil heap. Cobscar Rake, Redmire Moor. January.
Slide 3: Sponge, possibly Hyalostelia. Limestone. Collected from lead mining spoil heap. Cobscar Rake, Redmire Moor. January.
Slide 4: Sponge, possibly Hyalostelia. Limestone. Collected from lead mining spoil heap. Cobscar Rake, Redmire Moor. January.
Slide 5: Sponge, possibly Hyalostelia. Limestone. Section of sample in preceeding sample. Collected from lead mining spoil heap. Cobscar Rake, Redmire Moor. January.
Slide 6: Sponge, possibly Hyalostelia. Limestone. Collected from lead mining spoil heap. Also showing two Brachiopods. Cobscar Rake, Redmire Moor. January.
Slide 7: Sponge, possibly Hyalostelia. Lead mining spoil heap. Cobscar Rake, Redmire Moor. January.