Which animal phylum includes sponges?

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Sponges belong to the phylum Porifera.12

While early naturalists once misidentified them as plants due to their lack of movement and branching forms, sponges are confirmed to be primitive multicellular animals. They are distinct from other animals because they lack true tissues and organs, leading some scientists to classify them in the subkingdom Parazoa. Their survival relies on a specialized system of canals and chambers that circulate water to filter food and oxygen.134