Phylum - Porifera

Common name: Sponges

Name derivation: "channel bearer"

  • Class: Calcarea
  • Class: Demospongiae
  • Class: Hexactinellida
  • Class: Homoscleromorpha

Number of Orders: 31

Number of Families: 145

Number of Genus: 784

Number of known Species: 9,703

Earliest Fossil Record:  Middle Ediacaran 580 mya

Habitat: Marine, Freshwater

Size Range: 0.05 mm to 3.5 m

Notes: Based on Catalogue of Life as of July 2024

Cnidaria >