Porifera
Introduction
Porifera pōrĭf´ərə [key] [Lat.,=pore bearer], animal phylum consisting of the organisms commonly called sponges . It is the only phylum of the animal subkingdom Parazoa and represents the least evolutionarily advanced group of the animal kingdom. All adult sponges are sessile (nonmotile), and nearly all are marine; there are six families of freshwater sponges. Sponges are subdivided into three classes.
Sections in this article:
- Introduction
- Anatomy
- Reproduction
- Class Calcarea (Calcareous Sponges)
- Class Hexactinellida (Glass Sponges)
- Class Demospongiae (Demosponges)
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: Zoology: Invertebrates
Browse By Subject
- Earth and the Environment +-
- History +-
- Literature and the Arts +-
- Medicine +-
- People +-
- Philosophy and Religion +-
- Places +-
- Africa
- Asia
- Australia and Oceania
- Britain, Ireland, France, and the Low Countries
- Commonwealth of Independent States and the Baltic Nations
- Germany, Scandinavia, and Central Europe
- Latin America and the Caribbean
- Oceans, Continents, and Polar Regions
- Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, and the Balkans
- United States, Canada, and Greenland
- Plants and Animals +-
- Science and Technology +-
- Social Sciences and the Law +-
- Sports and Everyday Life +-
Download Poptropica and play for free!
Explore a limitless universe of uncharted islands
