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Amphidiscosida Temporal range: Cambrian–Recent PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Specimen of Pheronema carpenteri on exhibit in Naturmuseum Senckenberg
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Porifera
Class:	Hexactinellida
Subclass:	Amphidiscophora Schulze, 1886
Order:	Amphidiscosida Schrammen, 1924

Amphidiscosida (sometimes spelled Amphidiscosa) is an order of hexactinellids (glass sponges). The Amphidiscosida are commonly regarded as the only living sponges in the subclass Amphidiscophora.

As the name implies, the Amphidiscosida are characterized by a special type of microsclere (microscopic spicules): amphidiscs. Amphidiscs are rod-like spicules with an equal-sized umbel (a whorl of backswept hooks) at each end. The skeleton is primarily formed by megascleres (large spicules). In living species, most megascleres are pentactinal (five-rayed), though fossil species often have a more diverse set of megascleres. Amphidiscosids are often covered with prostalia (bristles), formed by single-rayed spicules. In a few species, basalia (long rooting bristles) in the lower part of the body are bundled together to suspend the body above the seabed as an anchoring structure.

The oldest fossilized amphidiscs are from the Carboniferous, but sponge fossils with spicules similar to Amphidiscosida have existed since the Cambrian period. Three families still flourish in deep marine waters today.

Families

• Hyalonematidae Gray, 1857
• Monorhaphididae Ijima, 1927
• †Pattersoniidae Miller, 1889
• †Pelicaspongiidae Rigby, 1970
• Pheronematidae Gray, 1870
• †Stiodermatidae Finks, 1960

References

1. Schrammen, A. (1924). Die Kieselspongien der oberen Kreide von Nordwestdeutschland. Volume 3. Berlin: Gebrüder Borntraeger.
2. ^ Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology Part E, Revised. Porifera, Volume 3: Classes Demospongea, Hexactinellida, Heteractinida & Calcarea, xxxi + 872 p., 506 fig., 1 table, 2004, available here. ISBN 0-8137-3131-3.
3. ^ Li, Lixia; Reitner, Joachim; Gong, Fangyi; Yan, Guanzhou; Wu, Rongchang (2023-01-02). "A new stiodermatid (Hexactinellida, Porifera) from the latest Ordovician of Anhui, South China and its significance for searching the missing link between the Cambrian and late Palaeozoic stiodermatid lineage". Historical Biology. 35 (1): 116–126. doi:10.1080/08912963.2021.2024180. ISSN 0891-2963.
4. "Hexactinellida: Fossil Record". UCMP Berkeley.
5. Reid, R.E.H. (1961). "Notes on Hexactinellid sponges—III. Seven Hexactinosa". Annals and Magazine of Natural History. 4 (48): 739–747. doi:10.1080/00222936108651201. ISSN 0374-5481.
6. Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology Part E, Revised. Porifera, Volume 2: Introduction to the Porifera, xxvii + 349 p., 135 fig., 10 tables, 2003, available here. ISBN 0-8137-3130-5.
7. Gray, J. E. (1857). Synopsis of the families and genera of axiferous zoophytes or barked corals. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, 25(1), 278–294.
8. Ijima, I. (1927). The Hexactinellida of the Siboga Expedition. In Weber, M. (Ed.), Siboga-Expeditie (1–383). Leiden: E. J. Brill.
9. Gray, J. E. (1870). Notes on anchoring sponges (in a letter to Mr. Moore). The Annals and Magazine of Natural History, 6(34), 309–312.

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