Phylum Porifera

The Sponges

1 Phylum Porifera
 Phylum Porifera Overview

 Most primitive of the multicellular animals

 Sponges
– Over 7,000 species
– 2% of all sponges are freshwater, none are terrestrial
– None named Bob

2 Phylum Porifera
 Phylum Porifera Overview

 Sponges occur in shallow water habitats and vary

widely in size (up to 1m. high) and shape

 All sponges are sessile (non moving) filter

feeders.

 They feed on small plankton that gets trapped in

their pores.

3 Phylum Porifera
 Sponge Diversity

Rope
Sponge

Black-ball sponge

Yellow Tube
Sponge
4 Phylum Porifera
 How does a sponge work?

 Most sponges work rather like chimneys: they take in

water at the bottom and eject it from the osculum
 ("little mouth") at the top.

 Sponges can control the water flow by various

combinations of wholly or partially closing the
osculum and ostia (the intake pores) and varying the
beat of the flagella, and may shut it down if there is a
lot of sand or silt in the water.[3]

5 Phylum Porifera
 Collar Cells
 Choanocytes: (collar cells) act
as a pump to bring water into
Choanocytes
the sponge

6 Phylum Porifera
 Sponge Support

Collagen is found between

the inner canals and
chambers. Gives the
sponge its shape.

7 Phylum Porifera
 Spicules
 Collagen is stiffened by
adding microscopic
minerals or additional
protein fibers (spongin) or
both.

– Spicules: skeleton
structures, made of calcium
carbonate (CaCO3) or
silicon dioxide (SiO2).
Spicules

8 Phylum Porifera
 Porifera Reproduction
 Asexual budding

 Regeneration: can regenerate from broken

pieces

 Sexual
– Usually hermaphroditic with male and female cells
scattered throughout the connective tissue.

9 Phylum Porifera
 Porifera Classification

 Phylum Porifera

– Class Calcarea

– Class Demospongiae

– Class Hexactinellida

10 Phylum Porifera
 Class Calcarea

 Have spicules made of calcium

carbonate

 Mostly small in size (<15 cm.),

and form irregular masses

 Never contain spongin,

restricted to shallow water, and
strictly marine
11 Phylum Porifera
 Class Demospongiae (Most sponges)
 Have spicules made of silicon
dioxide (SiO2) or spongin or a
combination of both

 Most sponges belong to this class

(90%)

 Mostly found on the continental

shelf

 Spongia spp. (Bath sponge)

12 Phylum Porifera
 Class Hexactinellida (Glass
sponges)
 Spicules are made of silica
 Usually found in deep water on soft substrates in the
tropics 200-1,000m.
 Spicules are six pointed and have a lattice-like structure
 Cup, vase or urn shape

13 Euplectella (Deep sea Glass sponge)

Phylum Porifera