CBCS GENERIC; FIRST SEMESTER..B.SC.

HONS
COURSE.PAPER .GENERIC ELECTIVE 2

UNIT 2PHYLUM PORIFERA :GENERAL

CHARACTERS AND CLASSIFICATION
UP TO CLASSES
CANAL SYSTEM IN SYCON

BY: LUNA PHUKAN

Introduction
Porifera animals are also called as Sponges. Sponges have managed to
conceal their true animal nature for several centuries. They are sessile,
profusely branched, have no clear way of capturing or eliminating food.
They also show very little response to external stimuli. Some of the sponges
are even green in color due to presence of symbiotic algae and hence were
regarded as plants by many early researchers. Later they were proved as
animals after the discovery of their feeding system and life cycle.

It was Robert Grant who coined the term Porifera which in Latin means pore
bearing animals (L. Porus=pore; ferre=to bear). Huxley and Sollas first
proposed the separation of sponges from eumetazoans. It is believed that
sponges might have evolved from the colonial choanoflagellate protozoans.
Sponges represent an evolutionary blind offshoot.
General Characters of Phylum Porifera
• They are distributed between Arctic to Temperate regions.
• Sponges are sessile and mostly marine. Some live in fresh
water
• They are solitary or colonial in nature found attached to stones
or molluscan shells or wooden pieces in the waters.
• Their body is vase-like, tubular, cushion-like or cylindrical in
shape. They exist in various colours like bright red, yellow,
orange, pink or violet or even white and black. Some sponges
have symbiont algae and thus appear green in colour.
• Majority of sponges are asymmetrical and some are radially
symmetrical
• Between the pinacoderm and choanoderm is a gelatinous
mesohyl. Mesohyl has various types of amoebocytes like,
• Sclerocytes which produce spicules
• Spongocytes which produce spongin fibres.
• Myocytes are the contractile cells found around osculum.
• Archaeocytes are totipotent cells capable of giving rise to any
other cell type.
• The central cavity is called as spongocoel or atrium. It opens
outside through an osculum.
• The water circulatory system of sponges is called as canal
system or aquiferous system. It helps in food acquisition,
respiratory gas exchange and excretion
• In an ascoid sponge, water enters the spongocoel through
ostia and exits through osculum.
• Aquiferous system and high totipotent nature of the cells are
the two characteristic features of sponges
• Mesohylar endoskeleton consists of inorganic (calcareous)
spicules or proteinaceous (spongin) fibres or both. Spicules
are designated according to the number of axes (Eg:
Monaxon, triaxon, tertaxon) or according to the number of
rays (Eg: monactinal, hexactinal, teractinal)
• Sponges are suspension feeders or filter feeders. Digestion is
intracellular. Choanocytes engulf food particles suspended in
water, partly digests and passes on to an archaeocyte for final
digestion.
• Disposal of excretory wastes primarily ammonia and
respiratory gas exchange occur by simple diffusion. Most cells
of fresh water sponges contain contractile vacuole for
Osmoregulation.
• Nerve cells and sensory cells are absent. If nervous system is
present it is of primitive type in some species with bipolar or
multipolar cells formed into a network. Sponges are capable of
responding to a variety of environmental stimuli by the closure
of osculum.
• Asexual reproduction takes place by fragmentation, budding
and the formation ofgemmules and reduction bodies
• Sponges are capable of regenerating viable adults from
fragments. Fresh water sponges and a few marine sponges
produce small gemmules, which remain dormant during winter.
• Sponge cells have remarkable power of regeneration. Even if a
sponge is divided into minute pieces, the cells aggregate to
form functional sponge.
• Most sponges are hermaphrodite but exhibit protandry or
protogyny. Spermatozoa arise primarily from choanocytes.
Eggs arise from archaeocytes or differential choanocytes.
• Fertilization is cross or internal. Spermatozoa are taken into the
aquiferous system of neighbouring individuals. Choanocytes
transfer them to the eggs in mesophyl.
• Cleavage is holoblastic. Development is indirect and includes,
• Coeloblastula larva (holoblastula with flagellated cells) or
• Amphiblastula larva (Coeloblastula with flagellated & non-
flagellated cells) or
• Parenchymella/parenchymula larva (Solid blastula with outer
layer of flagellated cells) or
• Trichimella larva (solid blastula with flagellated cells around the
equator)
Classification of Phylum Porifera
There are about 5,000 living species of sponges included in
this phylum Porifera. All the species of this phylum are
grouped into three classes depending mainly on the nature
of the skeleton.
They are both marine and fresh water forms. They live up
to a depth of 8,500 m in the sea.

They generally flourish in the warm waters. In the matter

of size they are highly variable. Their size may vary from
few centimeters to several meters.
Class I: Calcarea (L. Calcarius=limy)
The sponges of this class are small.
They all are exclusively marine forms living in shallow waters.
Their skeleton is made up of calcareous spicules.
Body many be cylindrical or vase like
They may either live in colonies or solitarily
Body organization may be asconoid, syconoid or leuconoid type.
Development includes coeloblastula or amphiblastula larva
Ex: Clathrina, Leucosolenia, Scypha
Class II: Hexactanellida (Gr. Hex=six; Actin=ray)
This class includes glass sponges.
The sponges of this class are of moderate size.
They all are exclusively marine forms living in deep waters.
Their skeleton is made up of six-rayed siliceous spicules.
Body may be cup, urn or vase like
They may either live in colonies or solitarily.
Development includes trichemella larva
Ex: Euplectella, Hyalonema
Class III: Desmospongiae (Gr. Demas=frame; Spongos=sponges)

The sponges of this class are large sized.

They include marine water or brackish water or fresh water forms
Their skeleton is made up of siliceous spicules or sponging fibers
or both or none.
Body is vase or cup or cushion shaped
They may either live solitarily or in colonies
Body organization is leuconoid type
Development includes parenchymula larva
Ex: Cliona, Spongia, Spongilla, Chalina
What are totipotent cells?
Sponges are sessile animals. Then what is the use of flagella in
sponges?
Chart the classification of phylum Porifera.
What is the meaning of the term Desmospongiae and
Hexactanellida?
Give the examples of the class Calcarea.
CANAL SYSTEM OF SYCON
• Sycon is a sedentary sponge. It leads an aquatic life
The body of sycon shows pores and canals which form
a complex canal system. ... The opening of incurrent
canal shows a pore membrane. This will show one or
two ostia, through which water enters into the
incurrent canals.
Sycon is a sedentary sponge. It leads an aquatic life The
body of sycon shows pores and canals which form a
complex canal system. It is called sycon type of canal
system. It is useful to draw water current inside the body.
These water currents bring in food and oxygen. The body
wall of sycon contains outer dermal layer and inner
choanoderm. in between these two layer mesenchyme is
present. The body wall is folded regularly and develop a
regular canal system.
1) Ostia: The body wall is folded. In between two folds an
incurrent canal is present. The opening of incurrent canal shows a
pore membrane. This will show one or two ostia, through which
water enters into the incurrent canals. The ostium is surrounded
by myocytes. These amoebocytes will work as sphincters. They
can close these openings or open them to regulate the inflow of
water.

2) Incurrent canals: In between two folds of the body wall an

incurrent canal is present. These canals end blindly towards
inside. This is lined inside by pinacocytes. These are flat cells and
are contractile.
3) Prosopyles: The incurrent canal opens into the radial canal through
prosopyles'.

4) Radial canals: In between two incurrent canals a radial canal is present. It

ends blindly to the exterior. It leads into excurrent canal internally. Radial
canal is lined with choanocytes or flagellated cells. Hence these chambers
are called flagellated chambers.

5) Apopyle: Radial canal opens into excurrent canal through an opening

called apopyle. The apopyle is also surrounded by Myocytes.

6) Excurrent canal: It is short and wide chamber. It opens into spongocoel.

This canal is lined with flat epithelial cell like the spongocoel. The board
opening between excurrent canal and sponogocoel is also called internal
ostium.
7) Spongocoel: The central part of the cylinder of
sycon will show a hollow cavity called spongocoel. it
is lined with epithelial cells. At the apex it opens out
through osculum.
Because of the action of flagella of choanocytes
water is drawn into the body. This is called incurrent
water. This brings in food and oxygen. Hence it is
called nutritive current. The water that goes out of
the osculum is called excurrent water.
• Functions of Sponge Canal System:
• It brings constant supply of water into the body
and helps in respiration.
• Water brings with in small food particles which
are used by the sponge.
• It helps in the process of reproduction.
• It helps in the process of discarding waste matter
out of the body.
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