The diagenesis of biosilica remains poorly known, but is increasingly important for reconstructing past oceanic silica levels using silicon isotopes. Here, we present SEM and XRD analyses of sponge spicules from the Late Jurassic, Late Cretaceous, and Eocene, compared with modern samples, to reveal their modifications with time. Modern spicules are composed of opal-A, distinct from sinter-derived opal-A. Many Eocene spicules also preserve opal-A, but show signs of early transformation. Most Eocene and all Cretaceous spicules consist of opal-CT, while quartz occurs in some Cretaceous and all Jurassic samples. Eocene opal-A spicules are macroscopically glassy, whereas opal-CT spicules exhibit a milky and/or opaque appearance, due to the presence of silica micro-spheres. Cretaceous spicules range from milky to opaque, and Jurassic spicules are typically opaque, containing microspheres, silica nanogranules, and microquartz. The structural and mineralogical evolution is reflected in decreasing Full Width at Half Maximum (FWHM) values of diffractograms with increasing age. Some Cretaceous and Jurassic spicules contain quartz blocks, formed by the fusion of silica nanogranules, while euhedral quartz occurs in both Cretaceous and Jurassic samples. Although diagenetic stages can vary within a single spicule, all retain at least some elements of their original structure and morphology. The observed mineralogical transitions reflect dominant solid-state maturation through dehydration and sintering and/or Ostwald ripening, rather than dissolution, mould formation, and reprecipitation from external fluids. Our findings indicate that sponge spicules preserved through solid-state transformation are preferred targets for silicon isotope studies. However, the assumption that such spicules retain their original isotopic signal must be further verified through integrated structural and isotopic investigations.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS:Phytoliths are microscopic siliceous structures produced in specific tissues by many plant families. The morphological features of phytoliths are diagnostic for many plant taxa and, given their inorganic composition, often become part of the fossil record. We used phytolith remains from lacustrine sediments to document the conclusive presence of Arecaceae (palms) in subarctic Canada during the late early Eocene (48 Ma). METHODS:Palm phytoliths and aquatic microfossils were extracted from lacustrine mudstones in a drill core taken from the Giraffe kimberlite pipe locality using a combination of acid and oxidation treatments under low heat. Light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy were used to identify, examine and image the microfossils. KEY RESULTS:Spherical echinate-shaped palm phytoliths with cone-shaped surface tubercles, likely belonging to the tribe Trachycarpeae (subfamily Coryphoideae), were uncovered in 45 strata over a 37-m section of core. We further document in situ linear arrays of phytoliths, or stegmata, from partially decomposed palm foliage. Additionally, four aquatic organisms, largely restricted to warm subtropical and tropical localities today, were also uncovered in the same strata harbouring the palm phytoliths. CONCLUSIONS:The presence of palm phytoliths allows inference of a warm regional climate during the late early Eocene, with mean cold-month temperatures above freezing despite prolonged winter darkness. This conclusion is supported by the presence of multiple warm-water aquatic organisms that grew extensively in the maar lake. Our findings will help to document the extent and timing of perennial ice formation in the northern hemisphere during the Cenozoic. Finally, the discovery of stegmata documents that this morphological trait had evolved by early Eocene.

Lithistids are an informal group of Demospongiae characterized by a choanosomal skeleton composed of articulated spicules called desmas. They are typically found in deep water on hard substrates. However, this study reports a moderately diverse assemblage of shallow-water lithistid demosponges inhabiting a sandy bottom at a depth of 50 m in the western Indian Ocean, near Cape Guardafui off the Somali coast. The assemblage comprises six species across five genera: Theonella, Discodermia, Manihinea, Gastrophanella, and Microscleroderma. Among these, three species-Discodermia indica, Gastrophanella somaliensis, and Microscleroderma magna-are described as new. Notably, the discoidal M. magna attained a significant size and lived unattached on the substrate, as indicated by the absence of attachment structures. This represents the first documented case of free-living lithistid sponges. The overall composition of the assemblage differs significantly from the lithistid faunas of the South African coast and Madagascar. Its affinities with Arabian Sea lithistids remain unclear due to taxonomic ambiguities in previously reported species, though similarities are evident at the genus level. At the species level, the assemblage shares affinities with nearby regions: Discodermia stylifera is also found in the Red Sea, Microscleroderma conferta occurs in the Zanzibar region, and Theonella swinhoei is present in Madagascar.

We describe two new genera of phymaraphiniid lithistid sponges Twertupia gen. nov. and Pickettispongia gen. nov. from the upper Eocene Pallinup Formation of South Western (SW) Australia based on new, rich and very well preserved material. Type material of these two genera, earlier described from poorly preserved material, were originally attributed to Thamnospongia subglabra and Stachyspongia neoclavatela (in case of species of Twertupia), and to Discoderma tabelliformis (case of species of Pickettispongia). This is the first record of bodily preserved phymaraphiniid sponges from Eocene rocks, as well as from the southern hemisphere. We discuss extant and fossil representatives of Phymaraphiniidae and their geographical distribution, concluding that the present day occurrences of these sponges are the result of a much larger Mesozoic Tethyan distribution.

Sponges are well known from recent vents and seeps, but most of them are background organisms that may occur elsewhere. Only a few are proven to be dependent on chemosynthesis. Conversely, sponges are only rarely reported from ancient hydrothermal vent and cold seep deposits. Here we present an overview of present-day sponges reported from such communities, as well as a review of all supposedly vent- and seep-associated fossil sponges reported so far. The most common sponges in the present-day seep and vent communities are Demospongiae, while Hexactinellida are rare. Most of these sponges are considered as “background” fauna with an exception of Cladorhizidae, which may thrive in deep-water hydrothermal vents. The oldest confirmed sponges from ancient seep sites are reported from the Late Jurassic of France and Jurassic/Cretaceous boundary beds in Svalbard. Additionally, we report herein new hexactinellids from Late Cretaceous localities in Japan. The Paleogene and Neogene records of seep sponges are more common but limited mostly to US Pacific Coast. Our review clearly shows that in the fossil record of chemosynthesis-based communities, sponges were equally common and diversified as they are today but were just overlooked.KeywordsCalcareaCambrianCladorhizidaeCretaceousDemospongiaeSponges (extant)Sponges (fossil)HexactinellidaHomoscleromorphaJurassicNeogenePaleogenePoriferaSeepsSpongillinaHydrothermal vents

The semi-endophytic coralline alga Lithophyllum cuneatum, which grows partially embedded in its host on its surface and lacks haustoria penetration to this host, was formerly known only from reef environments of the Pacific and Indian Ocean. Here, we report it for the first time from coral reefs of the Caribbean Sea (Belize). The morphoanatomical characteristics of the Caribbean specimens from Holocene sediment cores, which were collected in offshore reef environments, match those of the type material and other specimens reported from the Pacific and Indian Oceans, including the preservation of diagnostic characteristics (cuneate thallus morphology, morphology of the conceptacles and their pore canals, and dimensions of the cells). Similar to L. cuneatum from the Holocene of the Indian and Pacific oceans, Holocene specimens from Belize share two unique hosts represented by the coralline algae Porolithon onkodes and Neogoniolithon sp. The unique occurrence of this species in the Caribbean Sea can be explained either (1) by pre-Pliocene dispersal toward the west from the present-day Indian Ocean area along the Tethyan seaway and/or (2) by dispersal toward the east via the Pacific (Fiji) Ocean when the Panama Isthmus was still open. Although morphologically-equivalent coralline algae can belong to either cryptic or pseudocryptic species, both scenarios imply a broader, more continuous geographic distribution of lineage leading to semi-endophytic Lithophyllum cuneatum prior to the Pliocene, which is in contrast to the more fragmented distribution during the Holocene. Although the lack of information about the geographic range of L. cuneatum prior to the Holocene can be coupled with sampling biases and cannot discriminate among these scenarios, other cases of such disjunct distributions, which were formerly documented among marine invertebrates, indicate that the geographic distribution of this species was less fragmented in the past, and thus supports the Tethyan dispersal hypothesis, including the relict character of its present-day geographic distribution.

Porifera is a clade of globally distributed, early diverging metazoans that are important components of modern aquatic environments. Despite the fact that they were also abundant in the geological past, their fossil record is uneven. For example, little is known about sponge communities that inhabited the Tethyan areas during the Cenozoic. Here, we record an abundant and taxonomically diverse assemblage of middle–late Eocene sponges from east‐central Ukraine. The material consists of preserved whole‐body specimens as well as disassociated spicules. The taxonomic composition of this new assemblage, supplemented with previously published data obtained from sponge materials originating from the middle and upper Eocene of the East European Platform, documents a surprisingly rich sponge community that inhabited shallow waters (depths of 100 m) and comprised at least 30 demosponge species, including two new taxa, Paratetilla milanek Łukowiak and Theonella alexandriae Łukowiak, three hexactinellids and a single homoscleromorph. Additionally, we report the first fossil occurrence of Vetulina, a demosponge genus that currently is found near the Philippines and Australia and in the Caribbean Sea. Some of the sponge taxa recognized were previously noted from the upper Eocene of Australia and New Zealand. This is indicative of their wide distribution during the early Cenozoic and also shows that a non‐interrupted connection existed between the western Tethyan and peri‐Australian areas, explaining the patchy distribution of some sponge taxa in modern seas.

Sponges (Porifera) are a diverse and globally distributed clade of benthic organisms, with an evolutionary history reaching at least the Ediacaran-Cambrian (541 Ma) boundary interval. Throughout their research history, sponges have been subjects of intense studies in many fields, including paleontology, evolutionary biology, and even bioengineering and pharmacology. The skeletons of sponges are mostly characterized by the presence of mineral elements termed spicules, which structurally support the sponge bodies, though they also minimize the metabolic cost of water exchange and deter predators. The description of the spicules' shape and the skeleton organization represents the fundamental basis of sponge taxonomy and systematics. Here, we provide an illustrated catalogue of sponge spicules, which is based on previous works on sponge spicules, for example, and gathers and updates all terms that are currently used in sponge descriptions. Each spicule type is further illustrated through high quality scanning electron microscope micrographs. It is expected to be a valuable source that will facilitate spicule identification and, in certain cases, also enable sponge classification.

Background A basal spicule of the hexactinellid sponge Monorhaphis chuni may reach up to 3 m in length and 10 mm in diameter, an extreme case of large spicule size. Generally, sponge spicules are of scales from micrometers to centimeters. Due to its large size many researchers have described its structure and properties and have proposed it as a model of hexactinellid spicule development. Thorough examination of new material of this basal spicule has revealed numerous inconsistencies between our observations and earlier descriptions. In this work, we present the results of detailed examinations with transmitted light and epifluorescence microscopy, SEM, solid state NMR analysis, FTIR and X-ray analysis and staining of Monorhaphis chuni basal spicules of different sizes, collected from a number of deep sea locations, to better understand its structure and function. Results Three morphologically/structurally different silica layers i.e. plain glassy layer (PG), tuberculate layer (TL) and annular layer (AL), and an axial cylinder (AC) characterize adult spicules. Young, immature spicules display only plain glassy silica layers which dominate the spicule volume. All three layers i.e. PG, TL and AL can substitute for each other along the surface of the spicule, but equally they are superimposed in older parts of the spicules, with AL being the most external and occurring only in the lower part of the spicules and TL being intermediate between AL and PG. The TL, which is composed of several thinner layers, is formed by a progressive folding of its surface but its microstructure is the same as in the PG layer (glassy silica). The AL differs significantly from the PG and TL in being granular and porous in structure. The TL was found to display positive structures (tubercles), not depressions, as earlier suggested. The apparent perforated and non-perforated bands of the AL are an optical artefact. The new layer type that we called the Ripple Mark Layer (RML) was noted, as well as narrow spikes on the AL ridges, both structures not reported earlier. The interface of the TL and AL, where tubercles fit into depressions of the lower surface of the AL, represent tenon and mortise or dovetail joints, making the spicules more stiff/strong and thus less prone to breaking in the lower part. Early stages of the spicule growth are bidirectional, later growth is unidirectional toward the spicule apex. Growth in thickness proceeds by adding new layers. The spicules are composed of well condensed silica, but the outermost AL is characterized by slightly more condensed silica with less water than the rest. Organics permeating the silica are homogeneous and proteinaceous. The external organic net (most probably collagen) enveloping the basal spicule is a structural element that bounds the sponge body together with the spicule, rather than controlling tubercle formation. Growth of various layers may proceed simultaneously in different locations along the spicule and it is sclerosyncytium that controls formation of silica layers. The growth in spicule length is controlled by extension of the top of the axial filament that is not enclosed by silica and is not involved in further silica deposition. No structures that can be related to sclerocytes (as known in Demospongiae) in Monorhaphis were discovered during this study. Conclusions Our studies resulted in a new insight into the structure and growth of the basal Monorhaphis spicules that contradicts earlier results, and permitted us to propose a new model of this spicule’s formation. Due to its unique structure, associated with its function, the basal spicule of Monorhaphis chuni cannot serve as a general model of growth for all hexactinellid spicules.

Lithistid demosponges are well known from limestone caves of karstic origin in the Mediterranean Sea. However, they have never been reported from submarine caves of volcanic origin in the South Pacific. Here, we describe and provide DNA barcodes for four new lithistid demosponges including one new genus. All species grew on basaltic rocks inside lava tubes on Nuku Hiva Island (Marquesas Islands) and Tahiti Iti peninsula on Tahiti Island (Society Islands) in French Polynesia. Three of the species have rhizoclone desmas as choanosomal skeletons and belong to the family Scleritodermidae (Microscleroderma miritatarata sp. nov. and Microscleroderma lava sp. nov.) and Siphonidiidae (Gastrophanella basaltica sp. nov.). The new genus Levispongia gen. nov. belongs to the family Corallistidae. The new species Levispongia meyeri gen. nov. sp. nov. has dicranoclone desmas, complex dichotrianes with strongly spinose upper surfaces of the cladome and microstyles as the only microscleres. Phylogenetic relationships of these new species are discussed and compared with other material from the Caribbean and Central to the West Pacific Ocean. urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:844E385C-9A92-4F1B-B85C-9C1E319CD13F

This work gives new insights into the characterization of siliceous sponge spicules with the help of solid-state Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) and Dynamic Nuclear Polarization (DNP). Sponges, one of the most primitive animals are exclusively aquatic sessile organisms. In the case of marine siliceous sponges, an internal skeleton composed of spicules serves as to stiffen the soft sponge body, helping the species for protection and anchoring. The siliceous spicules, formed during a biomineralization process, are not purely mineral structures but rather biocomposites of silica and organics[1] from whom the interfaces study is promising.

Background Among all present demosponges, lithistids represent a polyphyletic group with exceptionally well-preserved fossils dating back to the Cambrian. Knowledge of their recent diversity, particularly in the Tropical Western Atlantic Ocean (TWA) where they are common in deep waters, is scarce making any comparison between present and past major ‘lithistid’ faunas difficult. In addition, the lack of sufficient molecular and morphological data hamper any predictions on phylogenetic relationships or phylodiversity from this region. The Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute (HBOI, Fort Pierce, Florida) holds the largest collection of TWA lithistid sponges worldwide, however, the majority remain to be taxonomically identified and revised. Principal Findings In this study we provide sequences of 249 lithistid demosponges using two independent molecular markers (28S rDNA (C1-D2) and cox1 mtDNA). In addition, a morphological documentation of 70 lithistid specimens is provided in the database of the Sponge Barcoding Project (SBP). This integrated dataset represents the largest and most comprehensive of the TWA lithistids to date. The phylogenetic diversity of ‘lithistid’ demosponges in the Bahamas and Jamaica are high in comparison to other TWA regions; Theonellidae and Corallistidae dominate the fauna, while Neopeltidae and Macandrewiidae are rare. A proposed tetractinellid suborder, one undescribed genus and several undescribed species are recognized and the Pacific ‘lithistid’ genera, Herengeria and Awhiowhio, are reported from the TWA for the first time. The higher-taxa relationships of desma-bearing tetractinellids are discussed and topics for revision suggested. Conclusion This first integrative approach of TWA ‘lithistid’ demosponges contributes to a better understanding of their phylogenetic affinities, diversity and bathymetric distribution patterns within the TWA. As in the Pacific, the TWA ‘lithistid’ demosponges dominate deep-water habitats. Deeper taxonomic investigations will undoubtedly contribute to a better comparison between present major ‘lithistid’ faunas and their fossil record in the Mesozoic.

Desmas-bearing demosponges known as lithistids have heavily silicified skeleton and occur typically in bathyal environments of warm and tropical areas but may be found in certain shallow marine caves. Here we report, for the first time two lithistid species, i.e., Neophrissospongia endoumensis , and N . cf. nana , that were earlier known from Western Mediterranean marine caves, from four marine caves in the north-eastern Mediterranean, and their congener Neophrissospongia nolitangere from deep waters (ca. 300 m) of the Aegean Sea. All marine caves, and sections within these caves, where lithistids occur, have freshwater springs. We interpret this surprising association between lithistids and freshwater input by elevated concentration of silica in water in cave sections where such springs occur, being 8–11 times higher in comparison with shallow water outside caves, and comparable to that of deep waters, that promoted lithistids’ development. One of the studied caves harbored an abundant population of N. endoumensis which formed large masses. The age estimation of these lithistids, based on known growth rate of related deep-water sponges, suggest that they could be approximately 769–909 years old in the case of the largest specimen observed, about 100 cm large. These sponges could have colonized the caves from adjacent deep-water areas not earlier than 7,000–3,000 years ago, after the last glaciation, because earlier they were emerged. High variability of spicules, especially microscleres, and underdevelopment of megascleres may be related to silicic acid concentration.

A diverse assemblage of bodily preserved sponges has been recovered from a lower Lutetian tuffite horizon in the Chiampo Valley, Lessini Mountains, Italy. The sponge assemblage is dominated by hexactinellids and lithistids. Using uniformitarian criteria, the composition of the assemblage suggests a water depth greater than 200 m. Sponges are often preserved in growth position including sponge clusters. Taphonomic processes facilitating sponge preservation include rapid burial of a living sponge community and early diagenetic calcification. Different modes of attachment suggest heterogeneous substrate conditions. The associated fauna, such as abundant pteropods in the matrix and in-situ preserved crinoids, confirms a rather deep-water environment. However, there are also common benthic elements of shallow-water origin. Although some of these elements show signs of transport, others, such as decapod crustaceans, do not. Moreover, trace fossils indicate high-energy environments. To reconcile these observations, we propose rapid, tectonically triggered sea-level changes.

Marly sediments of the early Messinian Abad Member of the Turre Formation from the northeastern sector of the Carboneras-Nijar Basin (southern Spain) have yielded a rich fossil assemblage, of which 60 taxa are documented herein. Besides nannoflora and microfauna, this assemblage includes the first autochthonous macrofauna described from the Abad Member. Based on the calcareous nannofossil assemblage, in particular the occurrence of the zonal index taxon Amaurolithus primus, the sediments are assigned to the Mediterranean calcareous nannofossil zone CNM17, corresponding to the latest Tortonian to earliest Messinian interval. This matches the age range generally reported for the Abad Member. Palaeoecological evidence from calcareous nannofossils (20 autochthonous taxa), planktic and benthic foraminifera (12 taxa), Porifera (3 taxa), Octocorallia (Keratoisis), Serpulidae (4 taxa), Bivalvia (5 taxa), Gastropoda (2 taxa), Brachiopoda (7 taxa), Cirripedia (Faxelepas) and Vertebrata (5 taxa) indicates an upper bathyal environment with an influx of neritic elements for the Abad Member near Carboneras. Additionally, several faunal components may represent allochthonous/parautochthonous elements from adjacent habitats, which were transported into the deep marine setting by turbiditic mass flows. Although similarities exist, the fossil assemblage from the marls is compositionally significantly different from the biota previously documented from a nearby exposed olistostrome, the ‘red breccia’. Similar fossil assemblages from the Mediterranean have so far mainly been reported from the Pliocene-Pleistocene of southern Italy and Greece. The Carboneras fauna thus adds to our knowledge of the development of these habitats and their biota prior to the Messinian salinity crisis. Beyond the novel palaeoenvironmental data, the range of the dyscoliid brachiopod Ceramisia meneghiniana, previously known only from the Pliocene of Italy, is extended to the Miocene of Spain. The cirripede crustacean Pycnolepas paronai De Alessandri, 1895 is transferred to the hitherto monospecific genus Faxelepas Gale, 2015, whereby the range of the latter (previously Maastrichtian to Danian) is extended to the late Miocene.

The Langhian (middle Miocene) marls of lacustrine succession cropping out in the open cast coal mine Gračanica (Bugojno basin, central Bosnia and Herzegovina) yielded a rich siliceous microfauna. The most common are sponge spicules (megascleres), less common are diatoms and chrysophyte cysts. Cell wall remains of a green alga Botryococcus sp. were often observed in one sample. The most common spicules are spinose oxeas that strongly resemble the extant species Ochridaspongia rotunda Arndt, 1937 (family Malawispongiidae Manconi and Pronzato, 2002) that is endemic to Lake Ohrid, and we believe that the fossil material belongs to the same genus. Other, much less common spicules, birotules and thick smooth strongyles were attributed to the genus Ephydatia Lamouroux, 1816 (family Spongillidae Gray, 1867) and most probably Potamolepidae Brien, 1967 respectively. All together, they belong to 5–6 different taxa. The diatoms are represented by 11 species, the most common being Staurosirella leptostauron (Ehrenberg) D.M.Williams and Round 1988, Epithemia sp., Ellerbeckia sp. and Encyonema sp. Much less common are Staurosirella pinnata (Ehrenberg) D.M.Williams and Round 1988 and two undetermined species of Fragilaria as well as Eunotia. Eleven chrysophyte cyst morphotypes were uncovered. Alkaline and oligotrophic conditions in the paleolake are suggested by the presence of the representative of the genus Ochridaspongia Arndt, 1937 that thrives in such environments. The most common diatom species further suggest that the water of this paleolake was shallow, high in mineral content, alkaline, with a high pH and moderately to highly productive. Common occurrence of Botryococcus sp. suggests rather oligotrophic condition, indicating that conditions and nutrient levels were variable. The first fossil occurrence of the sponge genus Ochridaspongia indicates that this genus originated not in the Lake Ohrid, but much earlier during the early middle Miocene in the Dinarides Lake System.

Despite being reported from various localities and stratigraphic intervals, knowledge of the siliceous sponges from the Cenozoic of Eastern Europe remains surprisingly limited. Studies assessing their diversity are almost exclusively in Russian and rather hard to obtain. The most comprehensive elaboration of the sponge spicules from the Paleogene of the East European Platform was published in 2003 and deals with material from Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, and Lithuania. However, the classification in that paper is purely artificial and extremely difficult to interpret according to modern biological criteria. A reassessment of this material is carried out, with the aim of revising all morphotypes of spicules, and identifying them to the lowest possible taxonomic level. Results suggest that the assemblage is much more diverse than previously thought, including members of 24 demosponge families (class Demospongiae), one homoscleromorph (class Homoscleromorpha), and at least one hexactinellid (class Hexactinellida). Our improved understanding of the diversity of Paleogene sponge fauna of the East European Platform will have implications for the interpretation of the past and future ecological and paleobiogeographic studies.

Phymaraphiniidae Schrammen 1924 (Porifera: Astrophorina) is a family of lithistid demosponges that has received little attention in the past decades. The systematic problems within this family have not been addressed for a long time due to the absence of new records and material. The genus Exsuperantia Ozdikmen 2009 was first described by Schmidt (1879) as Rimella to allocate the species Rimella clava, found in the Caribbean. In 1892, Topsent found what he thought to be the same species described by Schmidt in the Azores, and synonymized it with Racodiscula clava, as he thought this species belonged to the family Theonellidae Lendenfeld 1903. However, Rimella and Racodiscula belong to distinct families: Rimella to Phymaraphiniidae, and Racodiscula to Theonellidae. Due to the fact that the genus Rimella was already preoccupied by a gastropod, it was renamed as Exsuperantia. In result of the poor preservation of Schmidt's material and the absence of new specimens, the attribution of Topsent's specimens to the family level remained obscure. Here, we review the genus Exsuperantia based on the analysis of new material recently collected during various research expeditions in the northeast Atlantic Ocean. The comparison of these new specimens with Schmidt's and Topsent's type material, allowed us to assign Topsent's specimens to a new species, Exsuperantia archipelagus sp. nov., and confirm its attribution to the family Phymaraphiniidae (not Theonellidae). Phylogenetic reconstructions using newly generated sequences of the cytochrome subunit (COI) marker also support the assignment of the new species to the family Phymaraphiniidae (not Theonellidae).

Research Infrastructures (RIs) are facilities, resources and services used by the scientific community to conduct research and foster innovation. LifeWatch ERIC has developed various virtual research environments, which include many virtual laboratories (vLabs) offering high computational capacity and comprehensive collaborative platforms that supporting the needs of digital biodiversity science. Over its 250 years of history, the taxonomic research community has developed a system for describing, classifying and naming taxa across multiple levels. For the marine biota, taxonomic information is organized and made publicly available through the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) that records more than 250,000 described valid species. Although scientists tend to assign an equal status (in terms of contribution to overall diversity) to each taxon used in taxonomy, biogeography, ecology and biodiversity, the question “are all taxa equal?” has never been tested at a global scale. We present evidence that this question can be addressed by applying relatedness indices (Taxonomic Distinctness) over the entire WoRMS metazoan tree. The RvLab, developed by the LifeWatchGreece RI, operating on a high-performance computer cluster, has been used to meet the high computational demands required for such an analysis at a global scale.