''Ernstilla'' is a genus of

sea sponges Sponges, the members of the phylum Porifera (; meaning 'pore bearer'), are a basal animal clade as a sister of the diploblasts. They are multicellular organisms that have bodies full of pores and channels allowing water to circulate through ...

and is the only genus in the monotypic family Ernstillidae. It is represented by a single species ''Ernstilla lacunosa''.

Taxonomy

The genus emerged from an examination of species then classified as ''Dendrilla lacunosa'' by Ernst Hentschel in 1912, describing specimens collected in Indonesia and later discovered at the Kimberley and northwest coast of Australia. The Western Australian researcher

Jane Fromont Phyllis Jane Fromont is a New Zealand and Australian scientist specialising in sponges. Early life and education Fromont was raised in Whanganui, New Zealand, the youngest of six children. She became interested in marine biology after scuba div ...

observed that the form of the species, long and whip-like, resembled other classifications and not the small delicate structure of other '' Dendrilla'' species. The initial examination required international research to complete, and the result was the identification of a new genus and family, allied to the

Verongiida Verongiida (also known as Verongida) is an order of sea sponges within the phylum Porifera. The "skeleton" in these sponges is made up of spongin, rather than of spicules. They live in marine environments. The name was proposed by Patricia Bergq ...

order. The study discovered that while resembling the morphology of the former classification, the skeletal structure of the species was suspected and confirmed to contain

chitin Chitin ( C8 H13 O5 N)n ( ) is a long-chain polymer of ''N''-acetylglucosamine, an amide derivative of glucose. Chitin is probably the second most abundant polysaccharide in nature (behind only cellulose); an estimated 1 billion tons of chit ...

Etymology

The new genus and family name are derived from the original author's first name, Ernst.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q76888117 Demospongiae