Lychniscosida
Order of sponges
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lychniscosida (sometimes spelled Lychniscosa) is an order of sponges belonging to the class Hexactinellida and subclass Hexasterophora.[1][2] They are dictyonal sponges (with parenchymal spicules fully fused into a 3D framework) characterized by the presence of additional struts at the nodes of the skeleton. These struts create octahedral frames, known as lychniscs ("lanterns").
| Lychniscosida Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Porifera |
| Class: | Hexactinellida |
| Subclass: | Hexasterophora |
| Order: | Lychniscosida Schrammen, 1903 |
Most members of the order are extinct, with their highest diversity as major reef builders in the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods.[3] A few uncertain[4] claims of Triassic lychniscosids have also been reported from China.[5][6] Only three genera are still alive today:[7] Lychnocystis (family Aulocystidae),[8] Neoaulocystis (family Aulocystidae),[8] and Scleroplegma (family Diapleuridae).[9]
Families
- Aulocystidae [Cretaceous–Holocene]
- †Callodictyonidae [Upper Jurassic[3]–Oligocene]
- †Calyptrellidae [Upper Cretaceous][3]
- †Camerospongiidae [Cretaceous][3]
- †Coeloptychidae [Cretaceous][3]
- †Cypelliidae [Jurassic][3]
- †Dactylocalycidae [Jurassic–Upper Cretaceous]
- Diapleuridae [Eocene[10]–Holocene]
- †Polyblastidiidae [Upper Jurassic–Cretaceous][3]
- †Sporadopylidae [Upper Jurassic–Cretaceous][3]
- †Ventriculitidae [Jurassic–Upper Cretaceous][3]