sponge: References & Edit History
More Articles On This Topic
- cellTissue and species recognition
- circulatory systemAnimals without independent vascular systems
- invertebrate digestive systemChannel-network system
- excretionSponges
- integumentSponges
- animal developmentReproduction and development
- reproductionReproduction of organisms
- animal reproductive systemSponges, coelenterates, flatworms, and aschelminths
- animal reproductive systemProvisions for the developing embryo
- skeletonCrystals
Additional Reading
Sponges in general are examined in E.A. Minchin, “Porifera,” in Ray Lankester (ed.), A Treatise on Zoology, vol. 2 (1900), an ample, classical treatment of the Porifera; Libbie Henrietta Hyman, The Invertebrates, vol. 1, Protozoa Through Ctenophora (1940), pp. 284–364, a thorough treatment of the Porifera; Maurice Burton, Sponges (1959), a British Museum (Natural History) report on sponges of the Indian Ocean; Patricia R. Bergquist and C.A. Tizard, “Sponge Industry,” in F.E. Firth (ed.), The Encyclopedia of Marine Resources (1969), pp. 665–670; W.G. Fry (ed.), The Biology of the Porifera (1970), a symposium covering the biology and paleontology of sponges; Klaus Rützler, The Burrowing Sponges of Bermuda (1974); and Patricia R. Bergquist, Sponges (1978), a comprehensive study of sponge biology. G.C.J. Vosmaer, Bibliography of Sponges 1551–1913, ed. by G.P. Bidder and C.S. Vosmaer-Roëll (1928), is a complete bibliography to 1913.
More advanced research includes Émile Topsent, Spongiaires de l’Atlantique: provenant des croisières du Prince Albert Ier de Monaco (1928), a well-illustrated monumental classic; D.A Webb, “The Histology, Cytology, and Embryology of Sponges,” Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science, 78:51–70 (1935), well-documented; A Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology, pt. E, Archaeocyatha and Porifera (1955), a well-documented systematic account of fossil sponges; Claude Lévi, “Étude des Halisarca de Roscoff: embryologie et systematique des Démosponges,” Archives de zoologie expérimentale et générale, 93:1–181 (1956), a fundamental work on the embryology of sponges and its connections with systematics; W.D. Hartman, “A Reexamination of Bidder’s Classification of the Calcarea,” Systematic Zoology, 7:97–110 (1958), a critical analysis of the modern classification of Calcispongiae; Maurice Burton, A Revision of the Classification of the Calcareous Sponges (1963), a well-illustrated diagnosis and description of the calcareous sponges of the world; “Porifera,” in Marcel Florkin and Bradley T. Scheer (eds.), Chemical Zoology, vol. 2, Porifera, Coelenterata, and Platyhelminthes (1968), pp. 1–76, reviews of various aspects of the biochemistry and physiology of sponges; Tracy L. Simpson, The Cell Biology of Sponges (1984), a well-illustrated, thorough study; Jean Vacelet and Nicole Boury-Esnault (eds.), Taxonomy of Porifera: From the N.E. Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea (1987); Klaus Rützler, Venka V. Macintyre, and Kathleen P. Smith (eds.), New Perspectives in Sponge Biology (1990), a collection of conference papers; and Louis De Vos, Atlas of Sponge Morphology (1991), a scholarly treatment written in both English and French.
Article Contributors
Primary Contributors
- Michele Sarà
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The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.
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Article History
| Type | Description | Contributor | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Modified link of Web site: Biology LibreTexts - Sponge Structure and Diversity. | Oct 17, 2026 | ||
| Add new Web site: PNAS - Ediacaran sponges, animal biomineralization, and skeletal reefs. | Jan 17, 2026 | ||
| Add new Web site: Cell Press - Current Biology - Magical mysteries of marine sponges. | Oct 16, 2025 | ||
| Add new Web site: Frontiers - Frontiers in Marine Science - Assessing the Potential of Sponges (Porifera) as Indicators of Ocean Dissolved Si Concentrations. | Aug 08, 2025 | ||
| Add new Web site: CORE - Marine sponges as microbial fermenters (PDF). | Mar 22, 2025 | ||
| Add new Web site: Mustansiriyah University - Phylum: Porifera (Sponges) (PDF). | Dec 20, 2024 | ||
| Add new Web site: Paleontological Research Institution - Digital Atlas of Ancient Life - Porifera. | Sep 28, 2024 | ||
| Add new Web site: CALS Encyclopedia of Arkansas - Sponges. | Aug 14, 2024 | ||
| Add new Web site: Nature - Nature Communications - Evidence for sponges as sister to all other animals from partitioned phylogenomics with mixture models and recoding. | Jul 05, 2024 | ||
| Add new Web site: MarineBio Conservation Society - Sponges. | Apr 09, 2024 | ||
| Add new Web site: University of Minnesota Libraries - Sponges and Cnidarians. | Nov 17, 2023 | ||
| Add new Web site: Exploring Our Fluid Earth - Phylum Porifera. | Feb 24, 2023 | ||
| Add new Web site: Academia - Porifera (Sponges): Recent Knowledge and New Perspectives. | Jan 12, 2023 | ||
| Add new Web site: National Center for Biotechnology Information - PubMed Central - Global Diversity of Sponges (Porifera). | Oct 31, 2022 | ||
| Corrected display issue. | Aug 17, 2022 | ||
| Add new Web site: Biology LibreTexts - Sponge Structure and Diversity. | Apr 11, 2022 | ||
| Add new Web site: NOAA National Ocean Service - What is a sponge? | Apr 11, 2022 | ||
| Add new Web site: Tree of Life Web Project - Life of a Sponge. | Jan 08, 2017 | ||
| Add new Web site: Quatr.us - What is a sponge? Porifera, Evolution, and Biology. | Jan 06, 2017 | ||
| Add new Web site: Easy Science for Kids - Porifera. | Jan 06, 2017 | ||
| Add new Web site: Oceanic Research Group - Sponges: They are Nothing Like Sponge Bob! | Aug 18, 2016 | ||
| Add new Web site: A-Z Animals - Sponge. | May 08, 2014 | ||
| Add new Web site: Iloveindia.com - Sponge. | Feb 12, 2013 | ||
| Add new Web site: Buzzle.com - Sponge. | Feb 12, 2013 | ||
| Add new Web site: Rader's Biology4Kids - Sponge. | Feb 12, 2013 | ||
| Add new Web site: Marine Parks WA - Sponge. | Feb 12, 2013 | ||
| Add new Web site: IndiaNetzone - Indian Sponges, Aquatic Animals. | Feb 12, 2013 | ||
| Updated the evolution section to state that the earliest evidence of sponges was found in rocks dating to the Cryogenian Period. | Feb 10, 2009 | ||
| Added new Web site: Monroe County Women's Disability Network - Sponges. | Feb 10, 2009 | ||
| Added new Web site: Washington State Department of Ecology - Freshwater sponge and bryozoans. | Jan 15, 2009 | ||
| Article revised and updated. | Dec 02, 2008 | ||
| Added new Web site: How Stuff Works - Animals - Sponge. | May 29, 2008 | ||
| Added new Web site: BBM - Sponges. | Jul 05, 2007 | ||
| Added new Web site: BedrockFossils.com - Calcite Sea Sponge. | Jul 05, 2007 | ||
| Added new Web site: Tim Lynch - Porifera Lesson. | Feb 22, 2007 | ||
| Added new Web site: Natural Resources Canada - Sponge Reefs on the Continental Shelf. | Jan 15, 2007 | ||
| Added new Web site: University of California, Berkeley: Museum of Paleontology - Introduction to Porifera. | Jun 26, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: Animal Diversity Web - Porifera. | May 29, 2006 | ||
| Article added to new online database. | Jul 26, 1999 |