The sponges or poriferans (from Latin porus "pore" and ferre "to bear") are
animals of the phylum Porifera. Porifera translates to "Pore-bearer". They
are primitive, sessile, mostly marine, water dwelling, filter feeders that
pump water through their bodies to filter out particles of food matter.
Sponges represent the simplest of animals. With no true tissues (parazoa),
they lack muscles, nerves, and internal organ. Their similarity to colonial
choanoflagellates shows the probable evolutionary jump from unicellular to
multicellular organisms. There are over 5,000 modern species of sponges
known, and they can be found attached to surfaces anywhere from the
intertidal zone to as deep as 8,500 m (29,000 feet) or further. Though the
fossil record of sponges dates back to the Neoproterozoic Era, new species
are still commonly discovered.
Anatomy and morphology Sponges have several c
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