Porifera
62 species
Sponges (also known as sea sponges), the members of the phylum Porifera (; meaning 'pore bearer'), are a basal animal clade as a sister of the diploblasts. They are multicellular organisms that have bodies full of pores and channels allowing water to circulate through them, consisting of jelly-like mesohyl sandwiched between two thin layers of cells.
Sponges have unspecialized cells that can transform into other types and that often migrate between the main cell layers and the mesohyl in the process. Sponges do not have complex nervous, digestive or circulatory systems like humans. Instead, most rely on maintaining a constant water flow through their bodies to obtain food and oxygen and to remove wastes. Believed to be some of the earliest animals alive today, sponges were possibly the first to branch off the evolutionary tree from the last common ancestor of all animals, which would make them the sister group of all other animals..mw-parser-output.toclimit-2.toclevel-1 ul,.mw-parser-output.toclimit-3.toclevel-2 ul,.mw-parser-output.toclimit-4.toclevel-3 ul,.mw-parser-output.toclimit-5.toclevel-4 ul,.mw-parser-output.toclimit-6.toclevel-5 ul,.mw-parser-output.toclimit-7.toclevel-6 ul{display:none}
Sponges are worldwide in their distribution, living in a wide range of ocean habitats, from the polar regions to the tropics. Most live in quiet, clear waters, because sediment stirred up by waves or currents would block their pores, making it difficult for them to feed and breathe. The greatest numbers of sponges are usually found on firm surfaces such as rocks, but some sponges can attach themselves to soft sediment by means of a root-like base.
Sponges are more abundant but less diverse in temperate waters than in tropical waters, possibly because organisms that prey on sponges are more abundant in tropical waters. Glass sponges are the most common in polar waters and in the depths of temperate and tropical seas, as their very porous construction enables them to extract food from these resource-poor waters with the minimum of effort. Demosponges and calcareous sponges are abundant and diverse in shallower non-polar waters.
The different classes of sponge live in different ranges of habitat:
Sponges (also known as sea sponges), the members of the phylum Porifera (; meaning 'pore bearer'), are a basal animal clade as a sister of the diploblasts. They are multicellular organisms that have bodies full of pores and channels allowing water to circulate through them, consisting of jelly-like mesohyl sandwiched between two thin layers of cells.
Sponges have unspecialized cells that can transform into other types and that often migrate between the main cell layers and the mesohyl in the process. Sponges do not have complex nervous, digestive or circulatory systems like humans. Instead, most rely on maintaining a constant water flow through their bodies to obtain food and oxygen and to remove wastes. Believed to be some of the earliest animals alive today, sponges were possibly the first to branch off the evolutionary tree from the last common ancestor of all animals, which would make them the sister group of all other animals..mw-parser-output.toclimit-2.toclevel-1 ul,.mw-parser-output.toclimit-3.toclevel-2 ul,.mw-parser-output.toclimit-4.toclevel-3 ul,.mw-parser-output.toclimit-5.toclevel-4 ul,.mw-parser-output.toclimit-6.toclevel-5 ul,.mw-parser-output.toclimit-7.toclevel-6 ul{display:none}
Sponges are worldwide in their distribution, living in a wide range of ocean habitats, from the polar regions to the tropics. Most live in quiet, clear waters, because sediment stirred up by waves or currents would block their pores, making it difficult for them to feed and breathe. The greatest numbers of sponges are usually found on firm surfaces such as rocks, but some sponges can attach themselves to soft sediment by means of a root-like base.
Sponges are more abundant but less diverse in temperate waters than in tropical waters, possibly because organisms that prey on sponges are more abundant in tropical waters. Glass sponges are the most common in polar waters and in the depths of temperate and tropical seas, as their very porous construction enables them to extract food from these resource-poor waters with the minimum of effort. Demosponges and calcareous sponges are abundant and diverse in shallower non-polar waters.
The different classes of sponge live in different ranges of habitat:
