skeleton which characterizes the majority of the so-called
Monaxonellida. This is derived from the former by the establishment
of secondary spicule-bundles connecting the primary or radial
bundles together, and the transition is usually accompanied by loss
of the cladi of the triaenes and by the development of a massive
irregular form on the part of the entire sponge. An intermediate
condition is found in some of the massive species of Tetilla (e.g.
T. limicola), in which the spicule-bundles are very well defined
and form distinct primary “fibres” in the interior of the sponge,
but no distinct secondary or connecting fibres are yet developed.
In the Sigmatomonaxonellida, derived from the Tetillidae, the
reticulate type of skeleton is almost universal, and in this group
an entirely new element is introduced into the skeleton with the
development of a “horny” cementing material (spongin) which
unites the spicules together in the fibres. At first small in quantity
(Reniera, fig. 32, A), the spongin cement gradually increases in
proportion to the spicules until in many Chalininae (fig. 32, B, C)
and Desmacidonidae the spicules become completely embedded
in it, and the fibres may be formed chiefly of spongin, with only
a core of spicules. The complete enclosure of the spicules by
spongin at a very early stage cuts off their food supply and causes
arrest of development. Finally, in some Chalininae (fig. 32, D) and
Desmacidonidae the spicules entirely disappear from the interior
of the fibre, and if at the same time they happen to be absent from
the intervening mesogloea we get a skeleton composed exclusively
of horny matter or spongin, to which the term pseudoceratose
may be applied. In the sub-family Ectyoninae the skeleton
becomes modified in an interesting manner by the development of
“echinating” spicules, usually acanthostyles or acanthotylostyles,
whose bases are cemented on to the fibre by spongin while their
apices project into the surrounding soft tissues. These doubtless
serve as a defence against internal parasites. In Agelas these
echinating spicules may persist after the spicules have entirely
disappeared from the interior of the strongly developed horny
fibre. In the Axinellidae all the spicules in the fibres are typically
more or less echinating in character and the fibres become
plume-like.
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(After Lendenfeld. Modified from Lendenfeld's Horny Sponges, by permission of the Royal Society of London.) |
| Fig. 33.—Dendritic, Euceratose Skeleton of Dendrilla rosea. |
Very frequently a special dermal skeleton is developed in the ectosome altogether distinct from that formed by the cladi of the triaenes (when these are present). Thus in the Geodiidae (fig. 23) the thick cortex is almost filled with densely packed sterrasters. In many forms there is a dense layer of small radially arranged monaxons at the surface of the sponge, whose projecting apices form an efficient protection. In the reticulate forms the ectosome is usually a thin dermal membrane supported by a reticulate dermal skeleton of slightly different structure from the “main” skeleton. In cases where a special stalk or a root-tuft is developed we also find a special and appropriate skeleton in connexion therewith.
In the so-called Lithistida alone amongst the Tetraxonida do we find the spicules (desmas) united together by silica to form a coherent skeleton, sometimes of stony hardness, very different from the elastic, flexible skeleton resulting from the development of spongin, and analogous to the condition met with in the Dictyonine Hexactinellids.
The microscleres usually play quite a subordinate part in the formation of the skeleton, being scattered irregularly throughout the mesogloea, though sometimes (Geodia, Tethya) the asters may form a definite cortical layer.
Euceratosa.—In the true horny sponges, if we neglect for the moment the presence of foreign bodies, we may say that the skeleton consists from the first exclusively of spongin, secreted (by special spongoblasts) in concentric layers to form very well defined fibres. In the most primitive forms (Aplysillidae) this horny skeleton is dendritic in arrangement (fig. 33), composed of fibres which rise vertically upwards from the base of the sponge (where they may be expanded to form a horny basal cuticle which serves for attachment) and ramify towards the surface, where their apices push against the dermal membrane and cause it to project in the form of “conuli.” No reticulation is formed in the simplest cases (Aplysilla, Dendrilla), but in Megalopastas secondary connecting fibres are established (in relation, doubtless, to the increase in size and massive form of the sponge), and the skeleton thus simulates the pseudoceratose reticulate type of the Sigmatomonaxonellida. In Darwinella we have, in addition to the dendritic skeleton, isolated “spicules” of spongin scattered irregularly through the mesogloea. The presence of these spicules, which are sometimes, though by no means always, hexactinellid in form, has given rise to much speculation as to the possible relationship of the Aplysillidae to the siliceous Hexactinellida. Until we know more about their origin, however, we may perhaps best regard them simply as detached portions of the general skeleton secreted by isolated groups of spongoblasts. The genus Megalopastas forms a natural transition to the Spongeliidae, in which the reticulation of the horny skeleton is an almost constant feature, and in which the tendency to supplement or replace the spongin by foreign bodies (sand, broken spicules) is very strongly marked. In extreme cases the skeleton is composed almost exclusively of sand (e.g. Psammopemma), and the whole sponge looks like a mass of sand stuck together by a minimum of soft tissues and spongin cement. Such “arenaceous” sponges also occur in other groups (e.g. Desmacidonidae). The culminating point in the development of the true horny skeleton is found in the Spongiidae (e.g. Euspongia), but even in the bath sponge (fig. 6) we commonly find sand grains or other foreign matter in the interior of the primary fibres. The value of the sponge for domestic purposes depends upon the softness and elasticity of the fibre, the closeness of the meshes, and the relative absence of sand.
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(After Dendy. From Quart. Journ. Micro. Science, new series, vol. xxxv., by permission of J. and A. Churchill.) |
| Fig. 34.—Histology. |
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1, Pavement epithelium from the upper surface of an oscular diaphragm of Vosmaeropsis wilsoni. 2, Chamber diaphragm of Vermaeropsis macera; mus.c. Myocytes; ex.op, Exhalant aperture of flagellated chamber. 3, 4, 5, Amoebocytes of Leucandra phillipensis (the one shown in 5 appears to be feeding by means of pseudopodia upon the collared cells (c.c.) of a flagellated chamber). 6, Section across an inhalant canal (i.e.) of Ute syconoides, showing an ovum (ov.) suspended from the wall, apparently awaiting fertilization; sp, spicules. |
Histology.
There are two primary tissue-forms in sponges, the flat pavement epithelium and the epithelium composed of choanocytes or collared cells. The former covers the whole of the external surface of the sponge and, except in the simpler Calcarea Homocoela, it also lines a considerable portion of the canal-system. The latter lines practically the whole of the primitive gastral cavity in the Calcarea Homocoela, but in all higher types becomes restricted to well-defined “flagellated chambers.” A gelatinous “mesogloea,” which must be regarded primarily as an intercellular substance, appears between the primitive outer and inner layers of the sponge-wall. This contains primitive amoeboid wandering cells (archaeocytes),
