Family Clionaidae - Boring sponges

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Demospongiae
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  Environment
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Fresh : No | Brackish : No | Marine : Yes
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Marine sponges that excavate burrows in calcareous material, such as mollusc shells and coral. Etching chemicals are released at the tips of specialized surface cells; these secretions dissolve only the edges of calcareous chips, which then fall to the seafloor, contributing up to 40% of the reef sediment in some places. Species in this family are distributed from shallow water to depths exceeding 2100 m.
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Show species | Nominal species list for Clionaidae | Specimen photos | References

Ref.
[ e.g. 9948]                       
Glossary
                    [ e.g. cephalopods]