''Arturia'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

calcareous sponge The calcareous sponges of class Calcarea are members of the animal phylum Porifera, the cellular sponges. They are characterized by spicules made of calcium carbonate in the form of calcite or aragonite. While the spicules in most species hav ...

in the family

Clathrinidae Clathrinidae is a family of calcareous sponges in the order Clathrinida. It contains the following genera: ''Arturia'' '' Borojevia'' '' Brattegardia'' ''Clathrina'' ''Ernstia ''Ernstia'' is a genus of calcareous sponges in the family Clathr ...

which contains 14 species. It is named after

Arthur Dendy Arthur Dendy (20 January 1865, in Manchester – 24 March 1925, in London) was an English zoologist known for his work on marine sponges and the terrestrial invertebrates of Victoria, Australia, notably including the "living fossil" '' Peripatus'' ...

, a prominent researcher of calcareous sponges. It was renamed ''Arturia'' in 2017 because the name ''Arthuria'' was already assigned to a genus of molluscs.

Description and biology

Calcinea The Calcinea are a subclass (biology), subclass of the calcareous sponges. Its phylum is Porifera and class is Calcarea. Branching is usually dichotomous branching, dichotomous or umbellate with anastomoses, which gives rise to reticulate growths ...

in which the cormus comprised a typical clathroid body. A stalk may be present. The skeleton contains regular (equiangular and equiradiate) triactines and tetractines. However, tetractines are more rare. Diactines may be added. Asconoid aquiferous system. ''Arturia canariensis'', for example, is a

filter feeder Filter feeders are a sub-group of suspension feeding animals that feed by straining suspended matter and food particles from water, typically by passing the water over a specialized filtering structure. Some animals that use this method of feedin ...

, sieving

plankton Plankton are the diverse collection of organisms found in Hydrosphere, water (or atmosphere, air) that are unable to propel themselves against a Ocean current, current (or wind). The individual organisms constituting plankton are called plankt ...

and other organic material out of the current of water as it passes through the ostia. Both

asexual reproduction Asexual reproduction is a type of reproduction that does not involve the fusion of gametes or change in the number of chromosomes. The offspring that arise by asexual reproduction from either unicellular or multicellular organisms inherit the fu ...

budding Budding or blastogenesis is a type of asexual reproduction in which a new organism develops from an outgrowth or bud due to cell division at one particular site. For example, the small bulb-like projection coming out from the yeast cell is know ...

and sexual reproduction take place in ''Arturia canariensis''. As in other species, each sponge is a

hermaphrodite In reproductive biology, a hermaphrodite () is an organism that has both kinds of reproductive organs and can produce both gametes associated with male and female sexes. Many Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic groups of animals (mostly invertebrate ...

Sperm Sperm is the male reproductive cell, or gamete, in anisogamous forms of sexual reproduction (forms in which there is a larger, female reproductive cell and a smaller, male one). Animals produce motile sperm with a tail known as a flagellum, whi ...

is liberated into the sea and some is drawn into other sponges with the water current that passes through them. Fertilisation is then internal and the

eggs Humans and human ancestors have scavenged and eaten animal eggs for millions of years. Humans in Southeast Asia had domesticated chickens and harvested their eggs for food by 1,500 BCE. The most widely consumed eggs are those of fowl, especial ...

are brooded in the ascon tubes of the sponge until they hatch. The free-swimming

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. The ...

e are expelled through the osculi and disperse with the currents. After a few days they settle on the

seabed The seabed (also known as the seafloor, sea floor, ocean floor, and ocean bottom) is the bottom of the ocean. All floors of the ocean are known as 'seabeds'. The structure of the seabed of the global ocean is governed by plate tectonics. Most of ...

and develop into juvenile sponges.

Species

There are 14 species in the Arturia genus.

References

{{Portal, Marine Life Clathrinidae Taxa named by Guilherme Muricy