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These sponges are massive or encrusting in form and have a very simple structure with very little variation in spicule form (all spicules tend to be very small). Reproduction is viviparous and the larva is an oval form known as an amphiblastula. This form is usual in calcareous sponges but is less common in other sponges.
Sponges were traditionally distributed in three classes: calcareous sponges (Calcarea), glass sponges (Hexactinellida) and demosponges (Demospongiae). However, studies have now shown that the Homoscleromorpha , a group thought to belong to the Demospongiae , has a genetic relationship well separated from other sponge classes.
The use of bath sponges for bathing and other purposes originated in Greece and spread all around Europe during the Middle Ages. From there, the use of sponges spread further, with Mediterranean bath sponges currently being shipped globally. [2] S. officinalis was used by humans in many ways in the past.
Demosponges (Demospongiae) are the most diverse class in the phylum Porifera. They include greater than 90% of all species of sponges with nearly 8,800 species worldwide (World Porifera Database). [5] They are sponges with a soft body that covers a hard, often massive skeleton made of calcium carbonate, either aragonite or calcite [citation ...
The siliceous sponges form a major group of the phylum Porifera, consisting of classes Demospongiae and Hexactinellida. They are characterized by spicules made out of silicon dioxide, unlike calcareous sponges. Individual siliachoates (silica skeleton scaffolding) can be arranged tightly within the sponginocyte or crosshatched and fused together.
The phylum Porifera includes the aquatic fauna sponges. Subcategories. ... Sponges and humans (2 C, 2 P) P. Prehistoric sponges (6 C, 4 P) T. Sponge taxa by rank (5 C)
Spongia is a genus of marine sponges in the family Spongiidae, originally described by Carl Linnaeus in 1759, containing more than 60 species. [1] Some species, including Spongia officinalis , are used as cleaning tools, but have mostly been replaced in that use by synthetic or plant material.
Sponges are physically very distinct from other animals, and were long thought to have diverged first, representing the oldest animal phylum and forming a sister clade to all other animals. [118] Despite their morphological dissimilarity with all other animals, genetic evidence suggests sponges may be more closely related to other animals than ...