Sponges (Porifera) as living metazoan witnesses from the Neoproterozoic: biomineralization and the concept of their evolutionary success

Terra Nova, 22, 1–11, 2010 The emergence of the Metazoa can be dated back to the Neoproterozoic Era which comprises the Cryogenian Period during which two major glaciations occurred, the Sturtian and the Varanger‐Marinoan. At that time, the phylum Porifera (sponges) evolved as the first animals and...

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Published in:Terra nova (Oxford, England) England), 2010-02, Vol.22 (1), p.1-11
Main Authors: Wang, Xiaohong, Hu, Shixue, Gan, Lu, Wiens, Matthias, Müller, Werner E.G.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biochemistry
Environmental science
Marine biology
Mineralogy
Paleobiology
Silica
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Summary:Terra Nova, 22, 1–11, 2010 The emergence of the Metazoa can be dated back to the Neoproterozoic Era which comprises the Cryogenian Period during which two major glaciations occurred, the Sturtian and the Varanger‐Marinoan. At that time, the phylum Porifera (sponges) evolved as the first animals and developed a hard skeleton. The two classes of siliceous sponges, the Hexactinellida and the Demospongiae, are already provided with the major genetic repertoire and gene regulatory networks that also exist in modern multicellular animals. Besides these metazoan innovations, the siliceous sponges display one autapomorphic character, silicatein, an enzyme which mediates bio‐silica formation. Well preserved siliceous sponge fossils have been excavated from the Cambrian Burgess Shale‐ and Chengjiang deposits. It is concluded that it was the hard skeleton of the siliceous sponges that contributed to the successful evolution and survival of the Porifera during the last 500 Ma.
ISSN:0954-4879
1365-3121
DOI:10.1111/j.1365-3121.2009.00909.x