Abstract
Recent Lithonida (Calcarea, Calcaronea) contains two families of Calcaronea characterized by a hypercalcified skeleton, which is reinforced either by the linkage of tetractines or by the formation of a rigid basal mass of calcite. The living tissue has free calcareous spicules, most frequently including tuning-fork triactines, or diapasons. They appear as survivors of fossil ‘pharetronids’, a polyphyletic grouping of fossil calcareous sponges, and are presently restricted to submarine caves and to bathyal rocky environments. The fossil genera are not treated here.
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© 2002 Kluwer Academic / Plenum Publishers, New York
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Vacelet, J., Borojevic, R., Boury-Esnault, N., Manuel, M. (2002). Order Lithonida Vacelet, 1981, Recent. In: Hooper, J.N.A., Van Soest, R.W.M., Willenz, P. (eds) Systema Porifera. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-0747-5_121
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-0747-5_121
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-0-306-47260-2
Online ISBN: 978-1-4615-0747-5
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