sponge
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- Exploring Our Fluid Earth - Phylum Porifera
- Academia - Porifera (Sponges): Recent Knowledge and New Perspectives
- Animal Diversity Web - Porifera
- Quatr.us - What is a sponge? Porifera, Evolution, and Biology
- National Center for Biotechnology Information - PubMed Central - Global Diversity of Sponges (Porifera)
- Key People:
- James Scott Bowerbank
- Related Topics:
- archaeocyathid siliceous sponge calcareous sponge glass sponge Axinella
sponge, any of the primitive multicellular aquatic animals that constitute the phylum Porifera. They number approximately 5,000 described species and inhabit all seas, where they occur attached to surfaces from the intertidal zone to depths of 8,500 metres (29,000 feet) or more. The members of one family, the Spongillidae, are found in fresh water; however, 98 percent of all sponge species are marine. Adult sponges lack a definite nervous system and musculature and do not show conspicuous movements of body parts. Early naturalists regarded the sponges as plants because of their frequent branching form and their lack of obvious movement. ...(100 of 6824 words)