Calcifibrospongiidae is a family of

sponges Sponges or sea sponges are primarily marine invertebrates of the animal phylum Porifera (; meaning 'pore bearer'), a basal clade and a sister taxon of the diploblasts. They are sessile filter feeders that are bound to the seabed, and ar ...

belonging to the order

Haplosclerida Haplosclerida is an order of demosponges. It contains the following families: * Calcifibrospongiidae Hartman, 1979 * Callyspongiidae de Laubenfels, 1936 * Chalinidae Gray, 1867 * Niphatidae Niphatidae is a family of demosponges in the orde ...

. The order Haplosclerida is distinguished by isodictyal skeleton (mesh shaped fibres). In general, Porifera are basal animals with bodies full of pores and channels. Calcifibrospongiidae includes the species ''Calcifibrospongia actinostromarioides''. There have only been ten recorded occurrences of this species: in Hogsty Reef and

San Salvador San Salvador () is the Capital city, capital and the largest city of El Salvador and its San Salvador Department, eponymous department. It is the country's largest agglomeration, serving as the country's political, cultural, educational and fin ...

, as well as in the subtropics of the Bahamas.

Description

Calcifibrospongiidae are sclerosponges, with a basal skeleton made out of

calcium carbonate Calcium carbonate is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is a common substance found in Rock (geology), rocks as the minerals calcite and aragonite, most notably in chalk and limestone, eggshells, gastropod shells, shellfish skel ...

, which encloses the sponge tissue. Scelorsponge skeletons are

polyphyletic A polyphyletic group is an assemblage that includes organisms with mixed evolutionary origin but does not include their most recent common ancestor. The term is often applied to groups that share similar features known as Homoplasy, homoplasies ...

, causing this family to be classified because of its

spicule Spicules are any of various small needle-like anatomical structures occurring in organisms Spicule may also refer to: *Spicule (sponge), small skeletal elements of sea sponges *Spicule (nematode), reproductive structures found in male nematodes ( ...

skeleton. Sclerosponges are

relict A relict is a surviving remnant of a natural phenomenon. Biology A relict (or relic) is an organism that at an earlier time was abundant in a large area but now occurs at only one or a few small areas. Geology and geomorphology In geology, a r ...

forms of sponges that originated from

Paleozoic The Paleozoic ( , , ; or Palaeozoic) Era is the first of three Era (geology), geological eras of the Phanerozoic Eon. Beginning 538.8 million years ago (Ma), it succeeds the Neoproterozoic (the last era of the Proterozoic Eon) and ends 251.9 Ma a ...

groups. They have derived from two possible sources; the first being from the demosponges during the Paleozoic and in recent ages diverged into several other groups or from lineages of demosponges that came together through hypercalcification. The sponge is orange in color, hard, and possesses an encrusting plate. The sponge is described to be tannish-orange underwater in ambient light and reddish-orange at surface level.Hartman, W D. “A new sclerosponge from the Bahamas and its relationship to Mesozoic stromatoporoids.” (1979). It is mushroom-shaped, with a smooth surface.Van Soest, Rob WM, and John NA Hooper. "Order Haplosclerida Topsent, 1928." ''Systema Porifera''. Springer, Boston, MA, 2002. 831-832. It is covered in oscules which are regularly scattered to provide a means for water to pass through. Additionally, the organism’s spicules are siliceous strongyles and reticulate in shape. The siliceous strongyles are held together by

spongin Spongin, a modified type of collagen protein, forms the fibrous skeleton of most organisms among the phylum Porifera, the sponges. It is secreted by sponge cells known as spongocytes. Spongin gives a sponge its flexibility. True spongin is found ...

fibres and the calcareous skeleton sits around this structure. This skeleton supports the soft parts of the sponge.

Life History

Calcifibrospongiidae are hermaphroditic, meaning they contain both male and female reproductive organs. They reproduce sexually, whereby the spermatocysts escape from the sponge via the

osculum The osculum (: oscula) is an excretory structure in the living sponge, a large opening to the outside through which the current of water exits after passing through the spongocoel. Wastes diffuse into the water and the water is pumped through ...

.Ereskovskii, A. V. "Development of sponges of the order Haplosclerida." ''Russian Journal of Marine Biology'' 25.5 (1999): 361-371. Sponges of the same species then capture the sperm and transport them to the eggs of the sponge via archaeocytes. Fertilization takes place in the mesenchyme of the sponge. They then produce zygotes that develop into free-swimming

parenchymella Parenchymella is a type of larva of a demosponge Demosponges or common sponges are sponges of the class Demospongiae (from + ), the most diverse group in the phylum Porifera which include greater than 90% of all extant sponges with n ...

larvae. These larvae then settle on a substrate and grow into their adult sponge form. The sponge is sciaphilous, which means it is tolerant of shade. To date, the shallowest specimen found was collected on a reef at

Acklins island Acklins is an island and Districts of the Bahamas, district of the Bahamas. It is one of a group of islands arranged along a large, shallow lagoon called the Bight of Acklins, of which the largest are Crooked Island, Bahamas, Crooked Island () ...

in the Bahamas at a depth of by W.M. Goldberg. It was described as large ( across and high). The largest specimen found was found south of Lucaya, Grand Bahama at in depth. Calcifibrospongiidae feed through

filter feeding 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 spe ...

. They transfer nutrients that are suspended in the water surrounding them and filter out the nutrients they do not want. Poriferans feed on plankton and organic particles. It has not been recorded whether or not Calcifibrospongiidae are able to move, although the larvae are motile.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q20735996 Haplosclerida