Order VERONGIIDA Bergquist, 1978

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Regional Maps

• VERONGIIDA Bergquist, 1978 [replacement name].
• VERONGIDA Bergquist, P.R. 1978. Sponges. London : Hutchinson 268 pp. 12 pls 81 figs 15 tables. [original spelling].

Diagnosis

Demospongiae where in the anastomosing skeleton the meshes are polygonal, and there is no distinction between primary ascending and secondary connecting elements. Fibres can become organised into a single plane either throughout the sponge or as lamellae near the surface; occasionally intertwined fascicles of fibres emphasise such surface specialisation. The typical fibre structure is a markedly concentric laminar bark surrounding a pith of
fine fibrillar material. Both bark and pith elements can be reduced and both can be almost lost in some genera, but traces always remain. Fibrous spicules separate from the main skeleton and composed only of bark elements can occur. The boundary between bark and pith is very marked, and the fibres on drying appear hollow. Cellular elements (degenerative spongocytes) become incorporated in the fibres in one family. Fibres rarely contain foreign detritus. Choanocyte chambers are diplodal or eurypylous and the mesohyl matrix, in which many different cell types are represented, is densely infiltrated by fibrillar collagen. A collagenous ectosome is usually differentiated and achieves a tissue-like construction with dense aggregations of spherulous cells. The texture of verongiid sponges reflects the collagenous nature of the matrix, they are homogeneous, deformable and fleshy. A very common pigmentation is sulphur yellow tinged with green; on death or damage this oxidises rapidly to dark brown, or more frequently deep purple, almost black. Some show differential surface/internal pigmentation in life. Verongiids range in form from tall tubular vases to thin spreading crusts, some degree of stalk formation is common. The mode of reproduction is oviparous; the structure of the larvae is unknown. Verongida are extremely distinct biochemically. They have no terpenes, but a lipid fraction high in sterol within which novel aplystane sterols frequently dominate. Tyrosinederived brominated compounds occur in all genera that have been studied.

ID Keys

KEY TO FAMILIES
(1) Choanocyte chambers eurypylous -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ianthellidae
Choanocyte chambers diplodal -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2

(2) Fibrous skeleton reticulate ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Aplysinidae
Fibrous skeleton dendritic -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3

(3) Bark elements absent from fibres ------------------------------------------------------------------ Pseudoceratinidae
Bark and pith elements both present in fibres --------------------------------------------------------------- Aplysinellidae

Diagnosis References

Bergquist, P.R. & Cook, S.D.C. 2002. Order Verongida Bergquist, 1978. 1081 in Hooper, J.N.A. & van Soest, R.W.M. (eds). Systema Porifera: A guide to the classification of sponges. New York : Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers Vol. 1. [1081]

History of changes