The Murrayonida are an order of
sea sponge
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 t ...
s in the subclass
Calcinea
The Calcinea are a subclass of the calcareous sponges. Its phylum is Porifera and class is Calcarea. Branching is usually dichotomous or umbellate with anastomoses
An anastomosis (, plural anastomoses) is a connection or opening between tw ...
.
Taxonomy
The order consists of four known species, in three families:
Family Murrayonidae
Dendy & Row, 1913
* ''
Murrayona phanolepis''
Kirkpatrick, 1910 - discovered by C. W. Andrews on
Christmas Island
Christmas Island, officially the Territory of Christmas Island, is an Australian external territory comprising the island of the same name. It is located in the Indian Ocean, around south of Java and Sumatra and around north-west of the ...
and the species name proposed in honor of
Sir John Murray, who financed the Christmas Island expedition, and the corresponding name was later given to the order.
Family Lelapiellidae
Borojevic, Boury-Esnault & Vacelet, 1990
* ''
Lelapiella incrustans''
Vacelet, 1977
* ''
Lelapiella sphaerulifera''
Vacelet, 1977
Family Paramurrayonidae
Vacelet, 1967
* ''
Paramurrayona corticata''
Vacelet, 1967
Description
Murrayonida are distinguished from other Calcinea by having a reinforced skeleton; like another line of Calcinea, the
Leucettidae, but unlike most other Calcinea, the Murrayonida sponges also have a cortex covering the cormus and a
leuconoid aquiferous system.
[.]
References
Calcinea
Taxa named by Jean Vacelet
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