Marine Biodiversity » Marine Sponges » Calcarea » Calcarea Classification » Subclass Calcaronea

Definition: Tubular, sessile growth forms; surface even, non-hispid; apical oscule with fringed margin; ectosomal skeleton of tangential sagittal triradiates and microxeas set at right angles to surface; skeleton of the chamber layer composed of large scattered oxeotes, loose bundles of tuning-fork spicules and more rarely bundles of slender oxeas, and subgastral sagittal triradiates; choanosomal skeleton composed of tangential sagittal triradiates and more rarely sagittal quadriradiates.

Scope: Three genera of which two are valid.

Reviews: Hartman (1958), Burton (1963), Vacelet (1970), Brien et al. (1973), Vacelet (1977a), Vacelet (1981), Hartman (1982).

Genera:
Kebira Row, 1909 (type species: Kebira uteoides Row, 1909) - choanosomal skeleton with spicular tracts constituted by triactines with rudimenary paired actines; atrial and cortical skeleton composed of triactines and diactines (Borojevic, Boury-Esnault & Vacelet, in prep.).
Lelapia Gray, 1867 (type species: Lelapia australis Gray, 1867) (syn. Paralelapia Hozowa, 1923) - choanosomal skeleton has spicular tracts constituted by diapasons (tuning-fork spicules) (Borojevic, Boury-Esnault & Vacelet, in prep.).