How is a sponge classified?
The approximately 8,550 living sponge species are scientifically classified in the phylum Porifera, which is comprised of four distinct classes: the Demospongiae (the most diverse, containing 90 percent of all living sponges), Hexactinellida (the rare glass sponges), Calcarea (calcareous sponges), and Homoscleromorpha …
What is called as calcareous sponge?
The calcareous sponges of class Calcarea are members of the animal phylum Porifera, the cellular sponges. They are characterized by spicules made of calcium carbonate in the form of calcite or aragonite.
What is the order of Porifera?
Phylum: Porifera.
What are the 3 classes of sponges?
The approximately 5,000 living sponge species are classified in the phylum Porifera, which is composed of three distinct groups, the Hexactinellida (glass sponges), the Demospongia, and the Calcarea (calcareous sponges). Sponges are characterized by the possession of a feeding system unique among animals.
What kingdom and phylum do sponges belong to?
phylum Porifera
All sponges belong to the taxonomic phylum Porifera, which is part of the kingdom Animalia and encompasses over 500 genera and between 5,000 and 10,000 different species. All sponges are aquatic animals with the vast majority living in saltwater environments.
What are chalk sponges?
Chalk is composed of the shells of such minute marine organisms as foraminifera, coccoliths, and rhabdoliths. The sponge spicules, diatom and radiolarian tests (shells), detrital grains of quartz, and chert nodules (flint) found in chalk contribute small amounts of silica to its composition.
What is a calcareous structure?
Calcareous is used as an adjectival term applied to anatomical structures which are made primarily of calcium carbonate, in animals such as gastropods, i.e., snails, specifically about such structures as the operculum, the clausilium, and the love dart.
What are the characteristics of Hexactinellida?
The average height of a hexactinellid is between 10 and 30 cm, but some can grow to be quite large. A hexactinellid possesses a cavernous central cavity (the atrium) through which water passes; a cap of tightly woven spicules covers the osculum in some species. Coloration in most is pale.
What are the 3 classes in phylum Porifera?
The approximately 5,000 living sponge species are classified in the phylum Porifera, which is composed of three distinct groups, the Hexactinellida (glass sponges), the Demospongia, and the Calcarea (calcareous sponges).
Which one is the example of class Demospongiae?
Included are the yellow tube sponge, Aplysina fistularis, the purple vase sponge, Niphates digitalis, the red encrusting sponge, Spiratrella coccinea, and the gray rope sponge, Callyspongia sp.
What are the 4 types of cells in a sponge?
Although sponges do not have organized tissue, they depend on specialized cells, such as choanocytes, porocytes, amoebocytes, and pinacocytes, for specialized functions within their bodies.