Picture of the Day: The Waffle Cone Sponge

Representing sweet success for a recent expedition off Tasmania, this 1.6-foot-wide (50-centimeter-wide), 6.5-foot-tall (200-centimeter-tall), “waffle cone” sponge is one of many new species found with a remotely operated submersible, scientists announced January 18, 2009.

The submersible, called Jason, is the size of a small car. It trawled the seas around the Tasman Fracture Zone, to a depth of 13,455 feet (4,010 meters)–the deepest such expedition yet in Australian waters. [National Geographic]