Calcareous sponge

Calcispongiae. From Ernst Haeckel's Art Forms of Nature 1904

  • Calcaronea
  • Calcinea

The calcareous sponges ( Calcarea ) are a class of sponges ( Porifera ). Fossils are detectable since the Cambrian period, the number of extant species is estimated at 400 to 500. All species of calcareous sponges live in the ocean.

Features

The animals are exclusively calcitic sclerite with a wide spectrum of forms that of isolated monactinalen, diactinalen, triactinalen up to tetractinalen spicules ranges. In addition, reticulate skeletons occur with fused spicules. A differentiation of the spicules in mega and microscleres, however, is not known. It come before all three organizational levels of sponges ( Ascon, Sycon and Leucon type).

Way of life

All calcareous sponges live in the marine environment. In contrast to the majority of the remaining calcareous sponges preferably come in shallower water and hiding from in caves and small cave areas in the so-called cryptic habitats.

System

The calcareous sponges are currently divided into two sub-classes, each with several systems (overview):

Class: calcareous sponges ( Calcarea )

  • Subclass: Calcaronea Order: Baerida
  • Order: Leucosolenida
  • Order: Lithonida
  • Order: Clathrinida
  • Order: Murrayonida

In addition, a distinction is extinct in the geological system of the Permian taxon Heteractinida. Presumably there is a basal group of calcareous sponges.

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