| Diapleuridae | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Porifera |
| Class: | Hexactinellida |
| Order: | Lychniscosida |
| Family: | Diapleuridae |
Diapleuridae is a family of glass sponges (class Hexactinellida) in the order Lychniscosida. [1] The only living species, Scleroplegma lanterna, is endemic to the waters around Cuba and St. Croix in the Caribbean Sea.
The first specimens of the family Diapleuridae known to science were collected in the 1870s. Oscar Schmidt, working in the Caribbean Sea, coined the type species Scleroplegma lanterna in 1879. The sponge was initially named Auloplegma lanterna, until it was determined that the genus name Auloplegma was preoccupied by another sponge named in 1870. During his study, he noted the rough texture of the fossils as well as the conical shape of the species. In 1880, Schmidt named two more species (Scleroplegma seriatum and Scleroplegma herculeum), [3] though these species are probably not referable to the same genus or order. [1]
An independent expedition was carried out by Dr. Isao Ijimi in the 1920s, during his cruise of the Caribbean Sea. This expedition culminated in his book The Hexactinellida of the Siboga Expedition, which was published in 1927. In this book, he named and illustrated the new sponge species Diapleura maasi. [4] It was later determined that Diapleura maasi and Scleroplegma lanterna were the same sponge. Since Scleroplegma lanterna had priority, that species name stuck. Nevertheless, Ijimi's family Diapleuridae had no predecessor, so it was also retained as a valid name. [1]
Scleroplegma is a benthic organism, living on the seafloor between about 204 and 585 meters in depth. [1] The individual sponge is roughly 30mm in height and 25mm in width, with a "glassy" silica skeleton. [4] Like all sponges, diapleurids are suspension feeders, primarily feeding on plankton and other suspended materials. [4]
Scleroplegma has “ridge-like tracts” of the skeleton running vertically about the fossil. [4] The sponge has a smooth gastral cavity that varies in thickness. The skeleton consists of a “gastral-skeletal” with branching ridges surrounding it. [4] The branches form a net-like structure of funnel-like calyxes. [4] The excurrent and incurrent parts of the sponge are thought to be formed through the same tubule–unlike other species within the genus where both tubules are distinctly separate–and are thought to be the cause of the gaps within the tube wall of the sponge. [4]
Coronispongia confossa, a fossil species indigenous to Italy, was named by Vivianna Frisone and her team in 2016. It would have inhabiting the middle and outer edges of shallow-water carbonate ramps with heterogeneous substrates. [2]
Leucosolenida is an order of sponges in the class Calcarea and the subclass Calcaronea. Species in Leucosolenida are calcareous, with a skeleton composed exclusively of free spicules without calcified non-spicular reinforcements.
Minchinellidae is a family of calcareous sponges, members of the class Calcarea. It is the only family in the monotypic order Lithonida. The families Petrobionidae and Lepidoleuconidae have also sometimes been placed within Lithonida, though more recently they have been moved to the order Baerida. Thanks to their hypercalcified structure, minchinellids have a fossil record reaching as far back as the Jurassic Period.
Hexasterophora are a subclass of glass sponges in the class Hexactinellida. Most living hexasterophorans can be divided into three orders: Lyssacinosida, Lychniscosida, and Sceptrulophora. Like other glass sponges, hexasterophorans have skeletons composed of overlapping six-rayed spicules. In addition, they can be characterized by the presence of hexasters, a type of microsclere with six rays unfurling into multi-branched structures.
Lyssacinosida is an order of glass sponges (Hexactinellida) belonging to the subclass Hexasterophora. These sponges can be recognized by their parenchymal spicules usually being unconnected, unlike in other sponges in the subclass where the spicules form a more or less tightly connected skeleton. Lyssacine sponges have existed since the Upper Ordovician, and three families are still alive today. The Venus' flower basket is one of the most well-known and culturally significant of the glass sponges.
Spicules are structural elements found in most sponges. The meshing of many spicules serves as the sponge's skeleton and thus it provides structural support and potentially defense against predators.
Heteractinida is an extinct grade of Paleozoic (Cambrian–Permian) sponges, sometimes used as a class or order. They are most commonly considered paraphyletic with respect to Calcarea, though some studies instead argue that they are paraphyletic relative to Hexactinellida. Heteractinids can be distinguished by their six-pronged (snowflake-shaped) spicules, whose symmetry historically suggested a relationship with the triradial calcarean sponges.
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.
Staurocalyptus is a genus of sponge. It was circumscribed in 1897 by Isao Ijima.
Amphidiscosida is an order of hexactinellids. The Amphidiscosida are commonly regarded as the only living sponges in the subclass Amphidiscophora.
Farreidae is a family of glass sponges in the order Sceptrulophora.
Lefroyella is a genus of glass sponges in the subfamily Euretinae, containing 2 species.
Anomochone is a genus of glass sponges in the family Tretodictyidae.
Aphrocallistidae is a family of hexactinellid sponges in the order Sceptrulophora.
Uncinateridae is a family of glass sponges in the order Sceptrulophora.
Claviscopulia is a genus of glass sponge in the family Farreidae.
Lonchiphora is a genus of glass sponge in the family Farreidae.
Bolosoma is a genus of pedunculated siliceous sponges belonging to the family Euplectellidae. This genus lives in deep-sea environments and provides a habitat for a plethora of other benthic species, giving Bolosoma an incredibly important ecological role in the ecosystems it is a part of.
Lychniscosida is an order of sponges belonging to the class Hexactinellida and subclass Hexasterophora. They are dictyonal sponges characterized by the presence of additional struts at the nodes of the skeleton. These struts create octahedral frames, known as lychniscs ("lanterns").
Rosella is a genus of glass sponges in the family Rossellidae. It is found in the Antarctic and sub-Antarctic regions.
Stellispongiida is an order of calcareous sponges, most or all of which are extinct. Stellispongiids are one of several unrelated sponge groups described as "inozoans", a name referring to sponges with a hypermineralized calcitic skeleton independent from their spicules. Stellispongiids have a solid skeleton encasing calcite spicules arranged in trabeculae. "Inozoans" and the similar "sphinctozoans" were historically grouped together in the polyphyletic order Pharetronida.