Demosponges (Demospongiae) are the most diverse class in the phylum Porifera. They include greater than 90% 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.
Grantia is a genus of calcareous sponges belonging to the family Grantiidae. Species of the genus Grantia contain spicules and spongin fibers.
Chondrocladia is a genus of carnivorous demosponges of the family Cladorhizidae. Neocladia was long considered a junior synonym, but has recently become accepted as a distinct genus.
Iophon cheliferum, also known as the white reticulated sponge, is a species of sea sponge which lives on the bottom of the ocean. It is a deep water species found in the south eastern Pacific Ocean and South Africa.
Poecilosclerida is an order of the demosponge class. It is the most speciose demosponge order with over 2200 species. It contains about 25 recognised families. They are characterised by having chelae microscleres, that is, the minute spicules scattered through the tissues, usually in the 10-60 μm range, have a shovel-like structure on the end.
Chondrocladia concrescens is a species of deep-sea carnivorous sponge in the family Cladorhizidae. It is commonly known as the "ping pong tree sponge" due to its distinctive tree-like shape with multiple branches. The species is found in the eastern Pacific Ocean and can grow up to one meter in height.
Rossellidae is a family of glass sponges belonging to the order Lyssacinosa. The family has a cosmopolitan distribution and is found at a large range of depths.
Axoniderma is a genus of carnivorous demosponges in the family Cladorhizidae.
Nicole Boury-Esnault is a retired French researcher of sponges, formerly at Centre d'Océanologie de Marseille, Aix-Marseille University.
Ciocalypta is a genus of sea sponges belonging to the family Halichondriidae.
Soleneiscus is a genus of calcareous sponges in the family Dendyidae.
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.
Coelosphaeridae is a family of sponges belonging to the order Poecilosclerida. Species are found across the globe.
Acarnus is a genus of sponges belonging to the family Acarnidae. The genus has almost cosmopolitan distribution.
Latrunculia is a genus of demosponges. It is well known for the diverse array of chemical compounds found in its species, including the latrunculins, which are named after this genus. Many of these are medically important, including anti-cancer compounds such as discorhabdins.
Rosella is a genus of glass sponges in the family Rossellidae. It is found in the Antarctic and sub-Antarctic regions.
Abyssocladia is a genus of the family Cladorhizidae, a family of carnivorous sponges. It is made up of at least 39 species found in oceans all over the world.
Axoniderma australis is a species of demosponge in the family Cladorhizidae. It is known from type specimens found off the coasts of Tasmania and New South Wales.
Axoniderma poritea is a species of demosponge in the family Cladorhizidae. It is known from type specimens found on the east coast of Australia.
