Genus Spongilla Lamarck, 1816

Museums

Regional Maps

• Spongilla Lamarck, J.B.P.A. de M. 1816. Histoire naturelle des animaux sans vertèbres. Paris : Verdière Vol. 2 568 pp. [98].

  Type species:

   Spongia lacustris Linnaeus, 1758 by subsequent designation, see Annandale, N. 1911. Freshwater sponges, hydroids and Polyzoa. The Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma. London.

Excluded Taxa

Misidentifications

SPONGILLIDAE: Spongilla lacustria sphaerica Lendenfeld, 1887 — Racek, A.A. in Hooper, J.N.A. & Wiedenmayer, F. 1994. Spongillidae. pp. 396-401 in Wells, A. (ed.). Zoological Catalogue of Australia. Melbourne : CSIRO Australia Vol. 12 xiii 624 pp. [Date published 21/Nov/1994] [400]

Distribution

Extra Distribution Information

Cosmopolitan.

Distribution References

Diagnosis

Spongillidae with encrusting, massive, branched to arborescent body shape. Consistency fragile, soft. Ectosomal skeleton consists of spicular brushes. Choanosomal skeleton irregular, from isotropic to anisotropic, pauci- to multispicular. Abundant spongin sheaths. Megascleres smooth to slightly spined oxeas. Microscleres abundant to rare spiny oxeas. Gemmules in dense clusters or scattered. Gemmular cage composed of megascleres sometimes present. Gemmules of two types: naked without gemmuloscleres, and armoured with gemmuloscleres. Gemmular theca from monolayered to tri-layered. Foramen or foramina present. Gemmuloscleres when present spined oxeas or strongyles.

ID Keys

See Family Spongillidae Diagnosis.

Diagnosis References

Manconi, R. & Pronzato, R. 2002. Suborder Spongillina subord. nov.: Freshwater sponges. pp. 921-1020 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. [926]

General References

Penney, J.T. & Racek, A.A. 1968. A comprehensive revision of a world-wide collection of freshwater sponges (Porifera: Spongillidae). Bulletin of the United States National Museum 272: 1-184 [7] (for extralimital synonymies)

History of changes