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The purpose of the skeleton is to support and protect the sponge. All types come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Calcareous skeletons are made of calcium carbonate or silicic acid, while the protein-based supportive and flexible skeleton is made of a protein called spongin. The mineral skeletons are either calcareous or siliceous. Sponges have two types of mineral skeletons and a protein-based one. The spicules are arranged in a mesh-like structure that gives the sponge its shape. The diversity of forms is reflected in the diversity of feeding habits. The phylum is very diverse and its members display a wide range of body forms. The phylum includes over 10,000 described species, and new species are being discovered regularly. They are primitive animals, having arisen early in animal evolution. Sponges are also called ‘Porifera’, which means ‘pore bearers’. Sponges are ancient creatures that evolved from a lineage of animals that are much older than modern vertebrates. It does not make up particular bones as a vertebrate has. Instead, the sponges have ‘sensory cells’ that can detect chemicals in the water.Īlthough sponges do have a skeleton made from calcium as we do, this is a very different kind of skeleton from what vertebrate animals have. Sponges are an unusual group of animals in that they lack a nervous system.
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