science

List of sponges of South Africa

List of sponges of South Africa is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand List of sponges of South Africa rather than just read about it. In short: The list of sponges of South Africa is a list of species that form a part of the poriferan (Phylum Porifera) fauna of South Africa. Taxonomy follows WoRMS.

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Reference excerpt

The list of sponges of South Africa is a list of species that form a part of the poriferan (Phylum Porifera) fauna of South Africa. Taxonomy follows WoRMS. The list follows the SANBI listing on iNaturalist, and does not always agree with WoRMS for distribution. Sponges or sea sponges are primarily marine invertebrates of the animal phylum Porifera (; meaning 'pore bearer'). They are filter feeders that are typically bound to the seabed, being sessile. Sponges are one of the most ancient members of living seabed community (macrobenthos), with many species being important reef-builders. Some sponge species inhabit freshwater. Sponges are multicellular organisms consisting of jelly-like mesohyl sandwiched between two thin layers of cells, and usually have tube-like bodies full of pores and channels that allow water to circulate through them. They have unspecialized cells that can transform into other types and that often migrate between the main cell layers and the mesohyl in the process. They do not have complex nervous, digestive or circulatory systems. Instead, most sponges rely on maintaining a constant water flow through their bodies to obtain food and oxygen and to remove waste products, usually via flagellar movements of the so-called "collar cells". Sponges may be the sister group to all other animals, although the evidence for this relationship remains inconclusive, and different studies may recover different placements between sponges and other animal clades. Fossil evidence of primitive sponges such as Otavia dates to as early as the Tonian period (around 800 Mya). The branch of zoology that studies sponges is spongiology. Historically, the skeletons of sea sponges were used as the cleaning tool of the same name, though this is no longer a common practice. (Full article...)

Class Calcarea

Subclass Calcaronea

Order Leucosolenida

Family Grantiidae

Amphiute lepadiformis Borojevic, 1967 Aphroceras alcicornis Gray, 1858, syn. Leucandra alcicornis (Gray, 1858), Cyathiscus actinia Haeckel, 1869. Leucandra algoaensis (Bowerbank, 1864), syn, Leucogypsia algoaensis Bowerbank, 1864. Leucandra armata (Urban, 1908), syn. Leuconia armata Urban, 1908. Leucandra australiensis (Carter, 1886), syn. Leuconia australiensis Carter, 1886. Leucandra bleeki (Haeckel, 1872), syn. Leucaltis bleeki Haeckel, 1872. Leucandra hentschelii Brøndsted, 1931, syn.Leuconia hentschelii (Brøndsted, 1931), Leucandra spissa (Urban, 1909), syn. Leuconia spissa Urban, 1909.

Family Amphoriscidae

Amphoriscus kryptoraphis Urban, 1908 Leucilla capsula (Haeckel, 1870), syn. Lipostomella capsula Haeckel, 1870.

Family Heteropiidae

Grantessa ramosa (Haeckel, 1872), syn. Grantia ramosa Smith in Haeckel, 1872, Leuckartea natalensis Miklucho-Maclay in Haeckel, 1872, Sycandra ramosa Haeckel, 1872, Sycandra ramosa Haeckel, 1872. Grantessa rarispinosa Borojevic, 1967 Grantia socialis Borojevic, 1967 Heteropia glomerosa (Bowerbank, 1873), syn. Sycettusa glomerosa (Bowerbank, 1873), Leuconia glomerosa Bowerbank, 1873, Heteropia simplex Row in Dendy & Row, 1913. Sycettusa hastifera (Row, 1909), syn. Grantilla hastifera Row, 1909.

Family Leucosoleniidae

Leucosolenia botryoides (Ellis & Solander, 1786), syn. Spongia botryoides Ellis & Solander, 1786, orange pipe sponge. Leucosolenia eustephana Haeckel, 1872

Family Sycettidae

Sycon defendens Borojevic, 1967 Sycon dunstervillia (Haeckel, 1872), syn. Sycandra dunstervillia Haeckel, 1872. Sycon lunulatum (Haeckel, 1872), syn. Leucandra lunulata Haeckel, 1872, Leuconia lunulata (Haeckel, 1872). Sycon natalense Borojevic, 1967

Subclass Calcinea

Order Clathrinida

Family Clathrinidae

Ascaltis gardineri (Dendy, 1913), syn. Clathrina gardineri (Dendy, 1913),Leucosolenia gardineri Dendy, 1913, Leucosolenia gardineri var. vergensis Kumar, 1924. Ernsta cordata (Haeckel, 1872), syn. Ascandra cordata Haeckel, 1872, Clathrina cordata (Haeckel, 1872), Leucosolenia cordata (Haeckel, 1872).

Family Leucettidae

Leucetta trigona Haeckel, 1872

Class Demospongiae

Subclass Heteroscleromorpha

Order Agelasida

Family Agelasidae

Agelas mauritiana var. oxeata Lévi, 1961 Pocked cup sponge

Order Axinellida

Family Axinellidae

Axinella natalensis (Kirkpatrick, 1903), syn. Tragosia infundibuliformis var. natalensis Kirkpatrick, 1903. Axinella weltnerii (Lendenfeld, 1897), syn. Phacellia weltnerii Lendenfeld, 1897. Crumpled sponge

Family Stelligeridae

Higginsia bidentifera (Ridley & Dendy, 1886) Higginsia natalensis Carter, 1885, syn. Higginsia coralloides var. natalensis Carter, 1885,

Family Raspailiidae

Subfamily Raspailiinae

Aulospongus involutus (Kirkpatrick, 1903), syn. Hemectyonilla involuta (Kirkpatrick, 1903), Stylostichon involutum Kirkpatrick, 1903. Endectyon gorgonioides (Kirkpatrick, 1903), syn. Syringella gorgonioides Kirkpatrick, 1903. Raspailia rigida Ridley & Dendy, 1886 Subfamily Cyamoninae

Waltherarndtia caliculatum (Kirkpatrick, 1903), syn. Hymeniacidon caliculatum var. osculatum Kirkpatrick, 1903, Hymeniacidon caliculatum Kirkpatrick, 1903.

Order Biemnida

Family Biemnidae

Biemna anisotoxa Lévi, 1963 yellow encrusting sponge. Biemna megalosigma var. sigmodragma Lévi, 1963 Biemna pedonculata Lévi, 1963 Biemna polyphylla Lévi, 1963 Biemna rhabdostyla Uriz, 1988 Sigmaxinella arborea Kirkpatrick, 1903 Sigmaxinella incrustans Kirkpatrick, 1903

Order Bubarida

Family Desmanthidae

Petromica (Petromica) digitata (Burton, 1929), syn. Petromica digitata (Burton, 1929), Monanthus plumosus var. digitatus Burton, 1929, Monanthus digitatus Burton, 1929. Petromica (Petromica) plumosa Kirkpatrick, 1903, syn. Petromica plumosa Kirkpatrick, 1903, Monanthus plumosus Kirkpatrick, 1903. Petromica (Petromica) tubulata (Kirkpatrick, 1903), syn.Petromica tubulata (Kirkpatrick, 1903),Monanthus plumosus var. tubulatus Kirkpatrick, 1903.

Order Clionaida

Family Clionaidae

Cliona celata Grant, 1826, syn. complicated, see citation. boring sponge. Spheciospongia capensis (Carter, 1882), syn. Suberites capensis Carter, 1882. Spheciospongia vagabunda (Ridley, 1884), syn. Anthosigmella vagabunda Ridley, 1884, Spirastrella cylindrica Kieschnick, 1896, Spirastrella vagabunda Ridley, 1884, Spirastrella vagabunda Ridley, 1884. vagabond sponge.

Family Placospongiidae

Placospongia carinata (Bowerbank, 1858), syn. Geodia carinata Bowerbank, 1858. Placospongia melobesioides Gray, 1867

Order Haplosclerida

Family Callyspongiidae

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with List of sponges of South Africa

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what List of sponges of South Africa claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to List of sponges of South Africa before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about List of sponges of South Africa ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of List of sponges of South Africa

In research: List of sponges of South Africa appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses List of sponges of South Africa in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: List of sponges of South Africa is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Marine biota of South Africa, South African animal biodiversity lists, Sponges by location, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for List of sponges of South Africa outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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Frequently asked questions

What is List of sponges of South Africa in simple terms?

The list of sponges of South Africa is a list of species that form a part of the poriferan (Phylum Porifera) fauna of South Africa. Taxonomy follows WoRMS.

Why does List of sponges of South Africa matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study List of sponges of South Africa?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on List of sponges of South Africa.