Verongiida (also known as Verongida) is 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 th ...

s within the phylum Porifera. The "skeleton" in these sponges is made up of

spongin Spongin, a modified type of collagen protein, forms the fibrous skeleton of most organisms among the phylum Porifera, the sponges. It is secreted by sponge cells known as spongocytes. Spongin gives a sponge its flexibility. True spongin is found ...

, rather than of spicules. They live in marine environments. The name was proposed by

Patricia Bergquist Dame Patricia Rose Bergquist (née Smyth, 10 March 1933 – 9 September 2009) was a New Zealand zoologist who specialised in anatomy and taxonomy. At the time of her death, she was professor emerita of zoology and honorary professor of anatomy ...

in 1978.

References

Sponge orders Verongimorpha Taxa named by Patricia Bergquist {{Demosponge-stub