Calcareous sponge

The calcareous sponges of class Calcarea are members of the animal phylum Porifera, the cellular sponges. They are characterized by spicules made out of calcium carbonate.

Calcareous sponges
"Calcispongiae" from Ernst Haeckel's Kunstformen der Natur, 1904
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Porifera

Bowerbank, 1817
Class:
Calcarea
Orders
  • Subclass Calcinea
    • Clathrinida
    • Leucettida
    • Murrayonida
  • Subclass Calcaronea
    • Baerida
    • Leucosolenida
    • Lithonida
    • Sycettida

Typically, the Calcarea are very small, measuring about 7-10 cm (3-4 inches) in height. Of the 15,000 or so species of Porifera that exist, only 400 of those are Calcareans.

Wikispecies has information on: Calcarea.
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