Shell Specimen: Sponges
“Shelling” is a fun for professional scientist and amateurs alike. A majority of the shells below are composed of the mineral aragonite CaCO3. Many of my modern or “recent” shells have fossil relatives in my Fossil Gallery. Below I have organized images and data of some of my sea shells.
Sponges are in the phylum Porifera meaning “full of holes”. The holes, called porse are used to vent water during filter feeding. Modern uses of sponges are primarily decoration and art. To see my fossil sponges and their relatives click here. To see my model sponges click here.
Kingdom: Animalia – Phylum: Porifera
(Sponges)
Sea Shell Glass Sponge
Class Hexactinellida
Common Name Venus Flower Basket
Sea Shell Glass Sponge
Class Hexactinellida
Common Name Venus Flower Basket
Data: Dance, S. Peter, Smithsonian Handbook: Shells, The photographic regognition guide to seashells of the world. A Dorling Kindersley Book.