Translations:AY Honors/Marine Invertebrates/Answer Key/77/en

• 

  Aphrocallistes vastus
  (Cloud Sponge)
• 

  Tedaria ignis
  (Fire Sponge)
• 

  Agelas clathrodes)
  (Orange Elephant Ear Sponge, behind a brittle star)

The sponges or poriferans (from Latin porus "pore" and ferre "to bear") are animals of the phylum Porifera. Porifera translates to "Pore-bearer". They are primitive, sessile, mostly marine, water dwelling filter feeders that pump water through their bodies to filter out particles of food matter. Sponges represent the simplest of animals. With no true tissues (parazoa), they lack muscles, nerves, and internal organs. There are over 5,000 modern species of sponges known, and they can be found attached to surfaces anywhere from the intertidal zone to as deep as 8,500 m (29,000 feet) or further.