NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Calcareous sponge

The calcareous sponges of class Calcarea are members of the animal phylum Porifera, the cellular sponges. They are characterized by their anus made out of plastic in the form of calcite or aragonite. The spicule of a calcareous sponge may have two to four points. Most have three points and somewhat resemble the Mercedes-Benz emblem. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2342x3280, 1969 KB) File links The following pages link to this file: Calcareous sponge User:Ragesoss/Haeckel ... Ernst Haeckel. ... Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Kunstformen der Natur Kunstformen der Natur (Artforms of Nature) is a book of lithographic prints by German biologist Ernst Haeckel. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is a method by which biologists group and categorize species of organisms. ... Digimon, the only known animals. ... Classes Calcarea Hexactinellida Demospongiae The sponges or poriferans (from Latin porus pore and ferre to bear) are animals of the phylum Porifera. ... Orders Clathrinida Leucettida Murrayonida Calcinea is a subclass of the calcareous sponges. ... Families Clathrinidae Soleneiscidae Levinellidae Leucaltidae Leucascidae Leucettidae Clathrinida is an order of Calcinea. ... Leucettida is an order in the subclass of Calcinea. ... Families Lelapiellidae Murrayonidae Paramurrayonidae Murrayonida is an order of Calcinea. ... Orders Baerida Leucosolenida Lithonida Sycettida Calcaronea is a subclass in the class Calcarea. ... Baerida is an order in the subclass of Calcaronea. ... Families Achramorphidae Amphoriscidae Grantiidae Heteropiidae Jenkinidae Lelapiidae Leucosoleniidae Sycanthidae Sycettidae Leucosolenida is an order of calcareous sponges in the class Calcarea in the animal phylum Porifera. ... Families Minchinellidae Petrobionidae Lithonida is an order of calcareous sponges in the class Calcarea in the animal phylum Porifera. ... Orders Baerida Leucosolenida Lithonida Sycettida Calcaronea is a subclass in the class Calcarea. ... Scientific classification or biological classification refers to how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms. ... The sponge, in the phylum Porifera, is a very primitive and specialized animal. ... Doubly refracting Calcite from Iceberg claim, Dixon, New Mexico. ... Aragonite Aragonite is a polymorph of the mineral calcite, both having the chemical composition CaCO3. ... This page is about the Mercedes-Benz brand of automobiles and trucks from the DaimlerChrysler automobile manufacturer. ...

All sponges in this class are strictly marine dwellers. All three sponge body plans are represented within class Calcarea : asconoid, syconoid, and leuconoid. Typically, the Calcarea are very small, measuring about 3-4 inches in height. Of the 15,000 or so species of Porifera that exist, only 400 of those are Calcareans. Asconoid is one of three possible body plans for sponges, which form the phylum Porifera in kingdom Animalia. ...

Species of Calcarea vary from radially symmetrical vase-shaped body types to colonies made up of a reticulum of thin tubes or irregular massive forms. Calcareous sponges are generally sedentary filter feeders, lacking any real tissues. Calcareous sponges are most commonly found in shallow tropical waters. Generally, Calcarea are small sponges. The different shapes of calcareous sponges are relatively simple, either purse, vase, pear or cylinder-shaped. The skeleton has either a mesh or honeycomb structure. Unlike most other sponges, calcareous sponges lack hollow canals, which makes the sponge stronger.

Calcarean sponges first appeared during the Cambrian and their diversity was greatest during the Cretaceous Period. Recent molecular analysis suggests that the class Calcarea should be delegated as a phylum, in particular the first to have diverged in the Kingdom Animalia; the other sponges belong to the phylum Silicarea. The Cambrian is a major division of the geologic timescale that begins about 542 Â± 1. ... The Cretaceous Period is one of the major divisions of the geologic timescale, reaching from the end of the Jurassic Period (i. ... For the linguistic term, see Phylum (linguistics). ... Digimon, the only known animals. ... Silicarea is a proposed new phylum based on molecular studies of the phylum Porifera. ...

External links

UCMP: Calcarea

Wikispecies has information related to:

Calcarea

Category: Porifera GFDL Wikispecies logo File links The following pages link to this file: Solanaceae Species Asterias Homo (genus) Human Wikipedia:Template messages/Links Wikipedia:Template messages/All Homo floresiensis User talk:Tuneguru Template:Wikispecies Categories: GFDL images ... Wikispecies is a sister project supported by the Wikimedia Foundation that anybody can edit with a great potential use to students and researchers. ...

Results from FactBites:

Sponges - LoveToKnow 1911 (16702 words)
	In cup-shaped sponges the pores are usually confined to the outer and the oscula to the inner surface.
	The value of the sponge for domestic purposes depends upon the softness and elasticity of the fibre, the closeness of the meshes, and the relative absence of sand.
	The sponges of commerce are obtained chiefly from the Mediterranean, the coast of Florida and the Bahama Islands.

M27.htm (624 words)
	Although sponge larvae are typically motile, adult sponges are usually benthic sessile organisms, which feed on particles (usually plankton and organic detritus) suspended in water currents created by flagellated cells known as choanocytes, which line internal chambers within the sponge.
	Sponges are a very old group, having evolved in the pre-cambrian era, so their earliest affinities are unknown, although sponges have left a good fossil record since the Cambrian.
	Sponges of the class Calcarea are almost all found in shallow waters (less than 100 meters depth), and are common in intertidal habitats.

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