Microbial communities of the sponges Callyspongia sp. from Hong Kong and Callyspongia plicifera (Porifera: Demospongia) from the Bahamas were compared with each other and with those from reference substrata using a terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) analysis. The least number of bacterial ribotypes and bacterial isolates were retrieved from Bahamas reference and sponge s...

We studied the evolutionary relationships among basal metazoan lineages by using complete large subunit (LSU) and small subunit (SSU) ribosomal RNA sequences for 23 taxa. After identifying competing hypotheses, we performed maximum likelihood searches for trees conforming to each hypothesis. Kishino-Hasegawa tests were used to determine whether the data (LSU, SSU, and combined) reject any of th...

A comparative study of the microscopic morphology and chemical characteristics spicules Hexactinellids (Hexactinellida) with different structural features skeletons, as well freshwater Baikal sponge belonging to class common sponges (Demospongia), was carried out. The trace element composition determined by X-ray fluorescence spectrometry. siliceous contain many elements, arranged in decreasing...

Fossils of the sponge Angulosuspongia sinensis from calcareous mudstones of the middle and upper part of the Kaili Formation (Cambrian Stage 5) in the Jianhe area of Guizhou province, South China, exhibit an apparently reticulate pattern, characteristic of the Vauxiidae. Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectrometry (EDS) and Raman spectroscopy analysis indicate the presence of silica in the skeletal el...