Geodiidae

Geodia cydonium, from here.

Belongs within: Democlavia.

The Geodiidae are a family of sponges characterised by a two-layered cortex, with ball-shaped spicules (sterrasters) in the inner layer. They are predominantly found on soft bottoms in the bathyal zone, but some species are found in dark habitats such as crevices in more shallow waters (Uriz 2002).

Characters (from Uriz 2002): Thickly encrusting, massive to globular growth forms with well-developed cortex. Cortex made of two differentiated layers: external layer fleshy and collagenous, with one of the variously specialised microscleres (euasters, spherules or microrhabds); inner layer filled with sterrasters. Euasters or microscleres may also be present in choanosome. Megascleres are regular, long-shafted triaenes, and oxeas.

Geodiidae
    |--Isops MG-H11
    |--Sidonops alba (Kieschnick 1896) [=Synops alba] BJ06
    |    |--S. a. alba BJ06
    |    `--S. a. minor Hentschel 1912 BJ06
    |--Erylus MG-H11
    |    |--E. amissus Adams & Hooper 2001 FV09
    |    |--E. lendenfeldi Sollas 1888 MG-H11
    |    `--E. nobilis Thiele 1900 BJ06
    `--Geodia MG-H11
         |--G. cydonium AS12
         |--G. kuekenthali Thiele 1900 BJ06
         |--G. muelleri F79
         |--G. parkesi Pickett 1967 F71
         |--G. phlegraei F79
         |--G. rovinjensis Müller, Müller et al. 1983 BJ06
         `--G. sphaeroides (Kieschnick 1896) [=Cydonium sphaeroides] BJ06

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[AS12] Adl, S. M., A. G. B. Simpson, C. E. Lane, J. Lukeš, D. Bass, S. S. Bowser, M. W. Brown, F. Burki, M. Dunthorn, V. Hampl, A. Heiss, M. Hoppenrath, E. Lara, E. Le Gall, D. H. Lynn, H. McManus, E. A. D. Mitchell, S. E. Mozley-Stanridge, L. W. Parfrey, J. Pawlowski, S. Rueckert, L. Shadwick, C. L. Schoch, A. Smirnov & F. W. Spiegel. 2012. The revised classification of eukaryotes. Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology 59 (5): 429–493.

[BJ06] Barnich, R., & D. Janussen. 2006. Die Typen und Typoide des Naturmuseums Senckenberg, Nr. 86. Type catalogue of the Porifera in the collections of the Senckenberg Museum in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Senckenbergiana Biologica 86 (2): 127–144.

[F71] Fletcher, H. O. 1971. Catalogue of type specimens of fossils in the Australian Museum, Sydney. Australian Museum Memoir 13: 1–167.

[FV09] Fromont, J., & M. A. Vanderklift. 2009. Porifera (sponges) of Mermaid, Scott and Seringapatam Reefs, north Western Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum Supplement 77: 89–103.

[F79] Fry, W. G. 1979. Taxonomy, the individual and the sponge. In: Larwood, G., & B. R. Rosen (eds) Biology and Systematics of Colonial Organisms pp. 49–80. Academic Press: London.

[MG-H11] McEnnulty, F. R., K. L. Gowlett-Holmes, A. Williams, F. Althaus, J. Fromont, G. C. B. Poore, T. D. O'Hara, L. Marsh, P. Kott, S. Slack-Smith, P. Alderslade & M. V. Kitahara. 2011. The deepwater megabenthic invertebrates on the western continental margin of Australia (100–1100 m depths): composition, distribution and novelty. Records of the Western Australian Museum Supplement 80: 1–191.

Uriz, M. J. 2002. Family Geodiidae Gray, 1867. In: Hooper, J. N. A., & R. W. M. Van Soest (eds) Systema Porifera: A guide to the classification of sponges pp. 134–140. Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers: New York.