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Sponges constitute the phylum Porifera, and have been defined as sessile metazoans (multicelled immobile animals) that have water intake and outlet openings connected by chambers lined with choanocytes, cells with whip-like flagella. [13]: 29 However, a few carnivorous sponges have lost these water flow systems and the choanocytes.
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.
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 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)
Bolosoma stalked glass sponge. Hexactinellid sponges are sponges with a skeleton made of four- and/or six-pointed siliceous spicules, often referred to as glass sponges.They are usually classified along with other sponges in the phylum Porifera, but some researchers consider them sufficiently distinct to deserve their own phylum, Symplasma.
All three sponge body plans (asconoid, syconoid, and leuconoid) can be found within the class Calcarea. Typically, calcareous sponges are small, measuring less than 10 cm (3.9 in) in height, and drab in colour. However, a few brightly coloured species are also known. Like the Homoscleromorpha, calcareous sponges are exclusively viviparous. [7]
Sponges are hermaphrodites, producing both egg and sperm. Sperm is released from one sponge and brought in through the ostia of another sponge. Once the sperm reaches the body cavity it is fertilized and develops into a free-swimming larvae. The free-swimming larvae are released out the osculum and will eventually settle and attach elsewhere. [6]
Hippospongia communis also known as the honeycomb bath sponge, is a marine sponge in the phylum Porifera. Hippospongia communis is a brown or darker color [ 1 ] and very porous, due to its many oscules , and is commonly found in shallow waters of the Mediterranean .