Who came first – sponges or comb jellies? A new study reaffirms that sponges are the oldest animal phylum – and restores the classical view of early animal evolution, which recent molecular analyses ...

Sponges (phylum Porifera) are early-diverging metazoa renowned for establishing complex microbial symbioses. Here we present a global Porifera microbiome survey, set out to establish the ecological ...

Sponges [Porifera] are the phylogenetically oldest metazoan phylum still extant today; they share the closest relationship with the hypothetical common metazoan ancestor, the Urmetazoa. During the ...

Embryonic development from coeloblastula to fully developed larva was investigated in 8 Mediterranean homoscleromorph species: Oscarella lobularis, O. tuberculata, O. microlobata, O. imperialis, ...

Sneezing can be traced back more than 600 million years to the humble sponge, according to new research. An involuntary release of air helps it get rid of irritants—just like humans, say scientists.

Bristol study reaffirms classical view of early animal evolution. Whether sponges or comb jellies (also known as sea gooseberries) represent the oldest extant animal phylum is of crucial importance to ...

Tracking environmental DNA (eDNA) is fast becoming a popular method of monitoring aquatic biodiversity, but current methods are expensive and cumbersome. Filter-feeding sponges can act as natural ...