Sponges, the members of the phylum Porifera, are a basal animal clade as a sister of the diploblasts. They are multicellular organisms that have bodies full of pores and channels allowing water to circulate through them, consisting of jelly-like mesohyl sandwiched between two thin layers of cells.
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.
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.
Spongia is a genus of marine sponges in the family Spongiidae, originally described by Carl Linnaeus in 1759, containing more than 60 species. Some species, including Spongia officinalis, are used as cleaning tools, but have mostly been replaced in that use by synthetic or plant material.
Axinellidae is a family of sponges in the order Axinellida.
Arturia adusta is a species of sea sponge in the family Clathrinidae found in Australia. The species was first described as Clathrina adusta by Gert Wörheide & John Hooper in 1999, and was assigned to the genus, Arthuria, in 2016 by Oliver Voigt & Wörheide. However, the name Arthuria had already been used and hence the genus name was changed to Arturia.
Clathrina helveola is a species of calcareous sponge in the family Clathrinidae from Australia, found in coastal waters off Queensland. It was first described by Gert Wörheide and John Hooper in 1999. The species name, helveola, means "pale yellow" in Latin and refers to the species' colouration.
Clathrina parva is a species of calcareous sponge in the family Clathrinidae, found off the Queensland coast of Australia.
Cymbastela is a genus of sponges in the family Axinellidae.
Thorectidae is a family of sea sponges in the order Dictyoceratida.
Cymbastela lamellata is a species of marine sponge in the family Axinellidae.
Cymbastela stipitata is a species of marine sponge in the family Axinellidae.
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.
Gert Wörheide is a German marine biologist who works mainly on marine invertebrates. He earned his doctorate in geobiology from Georg-August-Universität, following this with a post-doctorate at Queensland Museum (1998-2002), where he worked with John Hooper on sponges, a collaboration which continues.
Soleneiscus radovani is a species of calcareous sponge in the family Dendyidae, and was first described in 1999 by Gert Wörheide and John Hooper. The species epithet, radovani, honours Radovan Borojevic for "his substantial and pioneering achievements in calcarean taxonomy".
Leucetta villosa is a species of calcareous sponge in the family Leucettidae, and was first described in 1999 by Gert Wörheide and John Hooper. The species epithet, villosa, comes from the Latin, villosus ("hairy"), and was given because of the "hair-like extensions on the sponge surface".
Suberea is a genus of sponges belonging to the family Aplysinellidae.
Phyllis Jane Fromont is a New Zealand and Australian scientist specialising in sponges.
Michelle Kelly, also known as Michelle Kelly-Borges, is a New Zealand scientist who specialises in sponges, their chemistry, their evolution, taxonomy, systematics, and ecology.
