| Potamolepidae | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Uruguaya corallioides | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Porifera |
| Class: | Demospongiae |
| Order: | Spongillida |
| Family: | Potamolepidae Brien, 1967 |
| Genera | |
See text. | |
Potamolepidae is a family of freshwater sponges, with seven genera: [1]
This family contains freshwater sponges with a variety of body shapes, ranging from encrusting, massive to arborescent with irregular lobes, ridges or branches. [2] They are smooth and range in consistency from rigid to hard and stone-like. Gemmules are located at the sponge base or strictly adhering to the substrate. [2]
When present, the ectosomal skeleton has microscleres in the dermal membrane. These take the form of slender oxeas (have pointed ends). [2]
The choanosomal skeleton is alveolate-reticulate. It is loose and irregular at the sponge base and notably dense at the surface and more. Spongin is very sparse. The megascleres are strongyles (have rounded ends), varying from smooth to granular or spiny with inflated ends. [2]
Tropical areas off Africa, South America and around New Caledonia and Fiji. [2]
The following genera are recognised: [1]
Leucosolenida is an order of sponges in the class Calcarea and the subclass Calcaronea. Species in the order Leucosolenida are calcareous, with a skeleton composed exclusively of free spicules without calcified non-spicular reinforcements.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Malawispongiidae is a family of freshwater sponges found in the ancient lakes of Malawi, Tanganyika, Kinneret, Ohrid and Poso. As presently defined, the family is polyphyletic.
Metaniidae is a family of freshwater sponges, with five genera and 26 species:
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.
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.
Agelas dispar is a species of demosponge in the family Agelasidae. It lives on shallow-water reefs in the Caribbean Sea and around the West Indies.
Acanthochaetetidae is a family of sponges belonging to the order Clionaida. It is largely extinct, but contains two extant genera, each of which are represented by single extant species.
Acarnidae is a family of sponges belonging to the order Poecilosclerida. It has a global distribution, although several genera occur primarily in colder temperate waters, and several have very restricted ranges. It is estimated that there are several hundred species.
Coelosphaeridae is a family of sponges belonging to the order Poecilosclerida. Species are found across the globe.
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").
Calcifibrospongiidae is a family of sponges belonging to the order Haplosclerida. The order Haplosclerida is distinguished by isodictyal skeleton. In general, Porifera are basal animals with bodies full of pores and channels. Calcifibrospongiidae includes the species Calcifibrospongia actinostromarioides. There have only been ten recorded occurrences of this species: in Hogsty Reef and San Salvador, as well as in the subtropics of the Bahamas.
Metania is a genus of sponges belonging to the family Metaniidae.
Diapleuridae is a family of glass sponges in the order Lychniscosida. The only living species, Scleroplegma lanterna, is endemic to the waters around Cuba and St. Croix in the Caribbean Sea.
Penares is a widely distributed genus of demosponges.
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.
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