Types of sea Sponges

Like all other sponges, they are sedentary filter feeders. All three sponge body plans are represented within class Calcarea : asconoid, syconoid, and leuconoid. Typically, calcareous sponges are small, measuring less than 10 cm (3.9 in) in height, and drab in colour.

Sea Sponges thrive well in a variety oceanic climates – from tropical to polar – and can survive at all latitudes – from intertidal areas down to the deepest regions of the sea, including sea caves where there's little or no light.

Hexactinellid sponges are sponges with a skeleton made of four- and/or six-pointed siliceous spicules, often referred to as glass sponges.

Homoscleromorpha is a class of marine sponges composed of two families: Plakinidae and Oscarellidae.

The siliceous sponges form a major group of the phylum Porifera, consisting of classes Demospongiae and Hexactinellida. They are characterized by spicules made out of silicon dioxide, unlike calcareous sponges.

Sponges were traditionally distributed in three classes: calcareous sponges (Calcarea), glass sponges (Hexactinellida) and demosponges (Demospongiae). However, studies have shown that the Homoscleromorpha, a group thought to belong to the Demospongiae, is actually phylogenetically well separated.