A grand division of the Invertebrata, including the sponges; -- called also Spongiæ, Spongida, and Spongiozoa. The principal divisions are Calcispongiæ, Keratosa or Fibrospongiæ, and Silicea.

The phylum comprising the sponges.

A sponge has a system of holes and canals the animal uses to circulate water through its body. Sponges are multicellular but because its cells are not organized into tissues, they are considered "primitive" animals. No entries for this letter.

coextensive with the subkingdom Parazoa: sponges

pore-IF-er-a Sponges. 510, 515

Phylum Porifera (sponges) are multicellular organisms, but are not true metazoans. They have only a few cell types and these are not really organized into tissues. They are usually sessile (non-mobile), benthic (live on the sea floor) animals, and obtain food by filtering it out of the water around them. Most sponges have some sort of skeleton composed of spongin fibers, and/or spicules of calcium carbonate or silica.