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Animal Kingdom

                         Animal Kingdom~Sponges

 Phylum~Porifera/Parazoa/Sponges

*All sponges are aquatic,mostly marine,fresh water.

*These are primitive multicellular animals and have cellular level of organisation. Sponges have a water transport or canal system. Water enters through minute pores (ostia) in the body wall into a central cavity, spongocoel, from where it goes out through the osculum.

*Sponges are sessile organisms and remain attached to an  underwater objects,called Substratum. 

*Choanocytes or collar cells line the spongocoel and the canals. 

*No distinct tissue or organ.

*Symmetry Radial or no symmetry.

*Body wall with outer pinacoderm(dermal epithelium),inner choanoderm(gastral epithelium) and gelatinous non-cellular mesechyme in between.

*Choanoderm is mainly made of choanocytes.The cells(choanocytes) are characteristics of porifers.

* The body is supported by a skeleton made up of spicules or protein spongin fibres. 

*Sponges are the only metazoans having choanocytes.  

*Digestion intracellular.No respiratory or excretory organs.Therefore ,respiration and excretion occurs by diffusion through general body surface.

*Excretory matter is mainly Ammonia.

*Primitive nervous system.

*All sponges hermaphrodite but cross-fertilization is the rule.Asexual reproduction by ova and sperm.Cleavage holoblastic.Development indirect through a free-swimming ciliated larva,the Amphiblastula or parenchymula.

* Fertilisation is internal and development is indirect having a larval stage which is morphologically distinct from the adult.

Examples~



Sycon-Scypha

Spongilla-Fresh water sponge

Euspongia-Bath sponge

Hyalonema-the Glassrope sponge.

Cliona-the boring sponge 

Chalina-deadman's fingers

 

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