They each have their own phylum and each phylum is extremely diverse. The phylum Porifera comprises the sponges. Sponges in this class are typified by skeletal spicules composed of calcium carbonate. Lesson 18: Invertebrates Overview Lesson 18 provides a survey of common marine invertebrates including sponges, corals, lobsters, crabs and sea stars. The morphology of the simplest sponges takes the shape of an irregular cylinder with a large central cavity, the spongocoel, occupying the inside of the cylinder ().Water enters into the spongocoel through numerous pores, or ostia, that create openings in the body wall. Calcareous sponge, any of a class (Calcarea) of sponges characterized by skeletons composed entirely of calcium carbonate spicules (needlelike structures). The sponges (phylum Porifera) are among the simplest of the invertebrates. Corals, sponges, and worms are common words to our ears, but scientists would call them cnidarians, poriferans, and annelids. - Example: calcareous sponges, siliceous fossil sponges. It has a unique ability to asexually reproduce and to regenerate from a single cell, yet it has no brain or central nervous system and maintains many plants like qualities. … Although the majority of sponges are marine, some species live in freshwater lakes and streams. Sponge - Sponge - Classification: The general architecture of the skeleton is used to differentiate families, the particular combinations of spicular types to define genera, and the form and dimensions of single spicule types to differentiate species. It provides students with the basic taxonomy of major invertebrate phyla. Leuconoid - Greatest complexity - Intricate canal systems - Flagellated chambers ... - Sessile invertebrates, grow on artificial substrates (pier pilings, dock floats) Natural Products of Sponges - Source of novel compounds Most sponges are ocean dwellers, but a few are found in fresh water. https://poriferah.blogspot.com/2007/02/examples-of-sponges.html All sponges are part of the phylum Porifera. This name describes their appearance, as its means 'pore-bearing.' Sponges: Sponges are very basic, multicellular, aquatic animals. Calcareous sponges occur mainly on the rocky bottoms of the continental shelves in temperate, shallow waters; they are usually dull in … The spicules often protrude through the epipinecodermal covering of the body wall, giving the organism a rough texture. Sponges are simple invertebrate animals that live in aquatic habitats. There are at least 5,000 named species of sponges, likely with thousands more yet to be classified. It is half plant and half animal, was known to the Ancient Greek as Zoofitan. Sponges are very abundant of tropical waters and one of the best examples of sponges is corals which are an important factor in the formation of calcareous deposits. They are also considered regularly hermaphroditic just like some invertebrates, sponges, cnidarians, some mollusks, and earthworms. Sea Sponges was known as part of unique category. Other morphological characters include shape, colour, consistency, surface (smooth, rough, or conulose), and distribution and … They are found in shallow ocean environments to depths as great as five kilometers (km). Invertebrates make up more than 90% of the animals on earth and are part of the base of our food chain. Sponges can be described as organized masses of specialized cells that carry out bodily functions.