Spongilla

Taxobox

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image_width = 250px
image_caption = "Spongilla lacustris" found in the Hanford Reach of the Columbia River, Washington, USA.
name = Spongilla
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Porifera
classis = Demospongiae
classis_authority = Sollas, 1885
ordo = Haplosclerida
familia = Spongillidae
genus = "Spongilla"
subdivision_ranks = Species
subdivision = "Spongilla alba"
"Spongilla arctica"
"Spongilla aspinosa"
"Spongilla cenota"
"Spongilla helvetica"
"Spongilla inarmata"
"Spongilla lacustris"
"Spongilla wagneri"

"Spongilla" is a genus of freshwater sponges found in lakes and slow streams. There are around twenty species of freshwater sponges, all occurring in this genus. Sponges of the genus "Spongilla" attach themselves to rocks and logs and filter the water for various small aquatic organisms such as protozoa, bacteria, and other free-floating pond life. Unlike marine sponges, fresh-water sponges are exposed to far more adverse and variable environmental conditions, and therefore they have developed gemmules as a means of dormancy. When exposed to excessively cold or otherwise harsh situations, the sponges form these gemmules, which are highly resistant "buds" that can live dormantly after the mother sponge has died. When conditions improve, the gemmules will "germinate" and a new sponge is born.

References

* Myers, P., R. Espinosa, C. S. Parr, T. Jones, G. S. Hammond, and T. A. Dewey. 2006. The Animal Diversity Web (online). Accessed February 19, 2007 at http://animaldiversity.org.
* "freshwater sponge." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2007. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 19 Feb. 2007 .
* Carolina Biological. Protozoa and Invertebrates Manual. Burlington NC: 1980.