porifera – מילון אנגלי-אנגלי
Sponge
Sponges are
animals of the
phylum Porifera (; meaning "pore bearer"). They are multicellular organisms that have bodies full of pores and channels allowing water to circulate through them, consisting of jelly-like
mesohyl sandwiched between two thin layers of
cells. Sponges have unspecialized cells that can
transform into other types and that often migrate between the main cell layers and the mesohyl in the process. Sponges do not have
nervous,
digestive or
circulatory systems. Instead, most rely on maintaining a constant water flow through their bodies to obtain food and oxygen and to remove wastes.
Porifera
Noun
1. coextensive with the subkingdom Parazoa: sponges
(synonym) phylum Porifera
(hypernym) phylum
(member-holonym) Parazoa, subkingdom Parazoa
(member-meronym) sponge, poriferan, parazoan
Porifera
(n. pl.)
A grand division of the Invertebrata, including the sponges; -- called also Spongiae, Spongida, and Spongiozoa. The principal divisions are Calcispongiae, Keratosa or Fibrospongiae, and Silicea.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), edited by Noah Porter.
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