''Arturia'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

calcareous sponge The calcareous sponges or calcereans are sponges that make up the class Calcarea, characterized by spicules made of calcium carbonate in the form of high-magnesium calcite or aragonite. While the spicules in most species are triradiate (with three ...

in the family Clathrinidae which contains eleven species. It is named after

Arthur Dendy Arthur Dendy (20 January 1865, in Manchester – 24 March 1925, in London) was an English zoologist known for his work on Sponge, marine sponges and the terrestrial invertebrates of Victoria, Australia, notably including the "living fossil" ''Per ...

, a prominent researcher of calcareous sponges. It was renamed ''Arturia'' in 2017 because the name ''Arthuria'' was already assigned to a genus of molluscs.

Description and biology

Calcinea in which the cormus comprised a typical clathroid body. A stalk may be present. The skeleton contains regular (equiangular and equiradiate) triactines and tetractines. However, tetractines are more rare. Diactines may be added. Asconoid aquiferous system. ''Arturia canariensis'', for example, is a

filter feeder Filter feeders are aquatic animals that acquire nutrients by feeding on organic matters, food particles or smaller organisms (bacteria, microalgae and zooplanktons) suspended in water, typically by having the water pass over or through a s ...

, sieving

plankton Plankton are the diverse collection of organisms that drift in Hydrosphere, water (or atmosphere, air) but are unable to actively propel themselves against ocean current, currents (or wind). The individual organisms constituting plankton are ca ...

and other organic material out of the current of water as it passes through the ostia. Both

asexual reproduction Asexual reproduction is a type of reproduction that does not involve the fusion of gametes or change in the number of chromosomes. The offspring that arise by asexual reproduction from either unicellular or multicellular organisms inherit the f ...

budding Budding or blastogenesis is a type of asexual reproduction in which a new organism develops from an outgrowth or bud due to cell division at one particular site. For example, the small bulb-like projection coming out from the yeast cell is kno ...

and sexual reproduction take place in ''Arturia canariensis''. As in other species, each sponge is a

hermaphrodite A hermaphrodite () is a sexually reproducing organism that produces both male and female gametes. Animal species in which individuals are either male or female are gonochoric, which is the opposite of hermaphroditic. The individuals of many ...

Sperm Sperm (: sperm or sperms) is the male reproductive Cell (biology), cell, or gamete, in anisogamous forms of sexual reproduction (forms in which there is a larger, female reproductive cell and a smaller, male one). Animals produce motile sperm ...

is liberated into the sea and some is drawn into other sponges with the water current that passes through them. Fertilisation is then internal and the

eggs An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo begins to develop. Egg, EGG or eggs may also refer to: Biology * Egg cell, the female reproductive cell (gamete) in oogamous organisms Food * Eggs as food Places * Egg, Austria * Egg, Switzerland ...

are brooded in the ascon tubes of the sponge until they hatch. The free-swimming

larva A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...

e are expelled through the osculi and disperse with the currents. After a few days they settle on the

seabed The seabed (also known as the seafloor, sea floor, ocean floor, and ocean bottom) is the bottom of the ocean. All floors of the ocean are known as seabeds. The structure of the seabed of the global ocean is governed by plate tectonics. Most of ...

and develop into juvenile sponges.

Species

There are eleven species in the Arturia genus.

References

{{Portal, Marine Life Clathrinidae Taxa named by Guilherme Muricy Sponge genera