Demosponges (Demospongiae) 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.
Dendroceratida is an order of sponges of the class Demospongiae. They are typically found in shallow coastal and tidal areas of most coasts around the world. They are generally characterized by concentric layers of fibers containing spongin, and by large flagellated chambers that open directly into the exhalant canals. Along with the Dictyoceratida, it is one of the two orders of demosponges that make up the keratose or "horny" sponges, in which a mineral skeleton is minimal or absent and a skeleton of organic spongin-containing fibers is present instead.
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.
Clionaidae is a family of demosponges which are found worldwide. This family is known for parasitically boring holes in calcareous material such as mollusc shells and corals, using both chemical and mechanical processes.
Thoosa is a genus of sea sponges in the family Thoosidae. This genus is known for boring holes in corals. It contains sixteen described species.
Spongia officinalis, better known as a variety of bath sponge, is a commercially used sea sponge. Individuals grow in large lobes with small openings and are formed by a mesh of primary and secondary fibers. It is light grey to black in color. It is found throughout the Mediterranean Sea up to 100 meters deep on rocky or sandy surfaces.
Ianthella basta is a species of fan-shaped sea sponge in the class Demospongiae. It is also known as the elephant ear sponge, paper sponge, or scroll sponge.
Clathrina pulcherrima is a species of calcareous sponge from Australia. It was described by Arthur Dendy in 1891.
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.
Spongillida is an order of freshwater sponges in the subclass Heteroscleromorpha.
Staurocalyptus is a genus of sponge. It was circumscribed in 1897 by Isao Ijima.
Anheteromeyenia is a genus of freshwater sponge. It has been recorded in the Nearctic, the Neotropics. This taxon was initially a subgenus of Heteromeyenia when K. Schöder circumscribed it in 1927, but W. M. de Laubenfels made it a genus in its own right in 1936.
Soleneiscus is a genus of calcareous sponges in the family Dendyidae.
Aspidoscopulia is a genus of glass sponge in the family Farreidae.
Dragmacidon australe is a species of sponge in the family, Axinellidae.
Phellodermidae is a family of sponges belonging to the order Poecilosclerida, first described by Rob van Soest and Eduardo Hajdu in 2002.
Manihinea is a genus of deep-water sea sponge in the Theonellidae family, first described by Gustavo Pulitzer-Finali in 1993. The generic description was emended in 2002 by Pisera and Lévi..
Robertus Wilhelmus Maria (Rob) van Soest, born in 1946, is a Dutch marine biologist. He works at the Naturalis Biodiversity Center and is also affiliated with the University of Amsterdam. He co-authored with John N. A. Hooper Systema Porifera: A Guide to the Classification of Sponges, a standard reference for sponge classification.
Atlantisella is a genus of glass sponges (Hexactinellids) belonging to the family Euplectellidae, first described in 2002 by Konstantin Tabachnick.
Monanchora is a genus of demosponges belonging to the family Crambeida. The genus contains 18 species, which have been researched for their potential use in medicine.
