| Astrophorina | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Geodia barretti | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Porifera |
| Class: | Demospongiae |
| Order: | Tetractinellida |
| Suborder: | Astrophorina Sollas, 1887 |
| Families | |
Ancorinidae Schmidt, 1870 | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Astrophorina is a suborder of sea sponges in the class Demospongiae. [1] [2] Astrophorina was formerly named Astrophorida and classified as an order, but it is now recognised as a suborder of Tetractinellida [3]
Demosponges are the most diverse class in the phylum Porifera. They include 76.2% of all species of sponges with nearly 8,800 species worldwide. They are sponges with a soft body that covers a hard, often massive skeleton made of calcium carbonate, either aragonite or calcite. They are predominantly leuconoid in structure. Their "skeletons" are made of spicules consisting of fibers of the protein spongin, the mineral silica, or both. Where spicules of silica are present, they have a different shape from those in the otherwise similar glass sponges. Some species, in particular from the Antarctic, obtain the silica for spicule building from the ingestion of siliceous diatoms.
Cladorhiza is a genus of carnivorous sponges, comprising around 40 species found in oceans around the world. Cladorhiza is the type genus of the family Cladorhizidae.
Geodia is a genus of sea sponge belonging to the family Geodiidae. It is the type genus of its taxonomic family.
Spirophorina is a suborder of sea sponges belonging to the class Demospongiae.
Polymastia is a genus of sea sponges containing about 30 species. These are small to large encrusting or dome-shaped sponges with a smooth surface having many teat-shaped projections (papillae). In areas of strong wave action, this genus does not grow the teat structures, but instead grows in a corrugated form.
Homosclerophorida is an order of marine sponges. It is the only order in the monotypic class Homoscleromorpha. The order is composed of two families: Plakinidae and Oscarellidae.
Plakinidae is a family of marine sponges. It is composed of seven genera:
Clathria is a large genus of demosponges in the family Microcionidae.
Haliclona is a genus of demosponges in the family Chalinidae.
Bubarida is an order of demosponges in the subclass Heteroscleromorpha.
Clionaida is an order of demosponges in the subclass Heteroscleromorpha.
Scopalinidae is an family of demosponges in the subclass Heteroscleromorpha. It is the only family in the monotypic order Scopalinida.
Tethyida is an order of sea sponges in the subclass Heteroscleromorpha.
Biemnida is an order of demosponges in the subclass Heteroscleromorpha.
Trachycladidae is a family of sea sponges in the subclass Heteroscleromorpha. It is the only family in the monotypic order Trachycladida.
Spongillida is an order of freshwater sponges in the subclass Heteroscleromorpha.
Ciocalypta is a genus of sea sponges belonging to the family Halichondriidae.
Dragmacidon australe is a species of sponge in the family, Axinellidae.
Jean Vacelet is a French marine biologist who specialises in the underwater fauna of the Mediterranean. After earning his licence at the Faculté des Sciences de Marseille and learning to dive in 1954, he specialised in the study of sponges at the Marine station of Endoume, and there he has stayed faithful to both sponges and place for more than half a century. His research has included all aspects of sponges: taxonomy, habitat, biology, anatomy, their bacterial associations, and their place in the evolution of multi-celled animals. He has studied them not only in the Mediterranean but in the Indian Ocean and the Pacific. Exploration of underwater grottoes, together with Jacques Laborel and Jo Hamelin, revealed the existence of sponges dating from very ancient geological periods and the unexpected existence of carnivorous sponges, and surprisingly, the grottoes in some ways mimicked life at much greater depths.
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