BIOL 1101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 92: Calcareous Sponge, Hexactinellid, Demosponge
27 Jun 2016
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Document Summary
There are three classes in the porifera: calcarea, hexactinellida, and. The calcarea"s notable feature is spicules made of calcium carbonate. However, molecular data indicates that the calcarea may not descend from the same ancestor as the glass sponges and demosponges. They may have evolved from a more complex animal by loss of advanced features. The hexactinellida are exclusively marine, and primarily deep ocean. They have beautiful, intricate body forms composed of silica. The demospongiae may be found in marine, brackish, or freshwater environments at all depths. Some have both silica spicules and spongin fibers, but the familiar bath sponge has only spongin. In times past, poriferans were an important source of the sponges used for cleaning a function largely lost to synthetic sponges. The major importance of sponges today is as chemical factories. As a matter of fact, sponge researchers today are more likely to publish in the journal of organic.
