poriferan
/pəˈrɪfərən/
noun
- An animal belonging to the phylum Porifera; a sponge.
- Marine biologists studied how the poriferan filters nutrients from the water.
- A single poriferan can pump thousands of liters of seawater through its body each day.
- The poriferan, or sponge, is one of the simplest multicellular animals on Earth.
Synonyms
adjective
- Relating to or characteristic of sponges (phylum Porifera).
- They examined the poriferan anatomy under a microscope.
- The poriferan skeleton is made of tiny spicules or spongin fibers.
- Poriferan fossils date back more than 500 million years.