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
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