Phylum porifera

Kingdom: Animalia

Subkingdom: Parazoa

Phylum: Porifera

Phylum porifera is also known as those with pores

There are more than 8,000 known species in the world (900 are fresh water, and the rest are salt water)

- Sponge taxonomists guess that there are 15,000 species in the world.

- They can reproduce sexually or asexually

- They feed through pores on their outer walls

- Lives in water enviorments

- Has a multicellular body, no organs, and few tissues

- They have no nervous system

- Fossil sponges are one of the oldest known animal fossils

- They are filter feeders. Every sponge can filter over 100 liters of water a day

- Their body is full of pores

-Scientists have found, in rocks, traces of the chemical 24-isoprophylcholestane, which they say has to be found inside sponges around 1,800 million years ago.

-Some fossils found around 580 million years ago have beenclassified as demosponges.

-A type of sponge called Archaeocythids, which were very common and scientists found several of, were found 530 million years ago, but died out 490 million years ago

-Porifera are mostly found from the polar to the tropics, and must live in clear and quiet oceans.

-They can be reproduced by asexual or sexual reproduction.

-In asexual both, male and female, can produce the speram and the egg. When they connect it attaches to a rock and waits to be formed.

-In sexual the male releases the sperm, and when it comes accross a female it attaches. Eventually a larva will be released and it can pick a spot to grow on.

-They can also reproduce by a small sponge growing on the base of an aduly sponge, and then breaking away. This is called budding. If one is cut or injured, it will also regenerate itself.

-From where it decides to stay, it will start do develop itself until it ends up how it wants to be.

- Its development can change depending on the place and enviroment they are in.

-In average, they live around 20 years.

-Using asexual reproduction, some can even end up living 200 years.

-When dead, they usually desintegrate.

-The porifera/sponge absorbs water through his pores.

-This water provides it with food and oxygen.

-The water is moved through the sponge because of the currents.

-The food that the sponge takes is with this is then used. It flows through the pores.

-They capture 90% of the bacteria that pass through them with the water.

-Porifera’s way of respiration is made in a unique way.

-The sponge absorbs the oxygen, these diffuse, and get oxygen from the flowing water system.

-In this system, many soluble waste products like ammonia and also carbon dioxide also use diffusion.

-Depending on the type of sponge, archeocytes remove mineral particles and take them out into the water current or either incorporate them into their skeletons.

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