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Glite Dictionary
phylum Porifera

phylum Porifera

9.2
A group of simple water animals with many holes in their bodies
  • noun
  • /ˈfaɪləm pəˈrɪfərə/
  • Specialized
translation icon : filo Porifera
  • Did you know that phylum Porifera is one of the oldest animal groups?

Examples

  • The phylum Porifera includes various species of sponges.

  • Many marine organisms belong to the phylum Porifera, including various types of sponges.

  • Members of the phylum Porifera are found in marine and freshwater habitats worldwide.

  • Scientists believe that phylum Porifera represents one of the earliest branches of animal evolution.

  • The unique filtering ability of phylum Porifera helps to maintain healthy aquatic ecosystems.

  • The phylum Porifera includes species that filter water through their porous bodies.

  • Researchers study the characteristics of the phylum Porifera to understand early animal evolution.

Synonyms

sponge
vsphylum Porifera
14 5.2

A simple sea animal with many holes that filters water to eat

names the broader biological group rather than individual organisms
Porifera
vsphylum Porifera
  • Specialized
1 9.9

Simple water animals like sponges with many tiny holes that feed by filtering water

is the same group but labeled with its formal taxonomic rank
poriferan
vsphylum Porifera
  • Specialized
9.9

A sea animal like a sponge with a body full of holes that filters water

refers to the whole biological group rather than an individual animal

Surface Forms

phylum Porifera singular
phyla Porifera plural

Morphology

phylum + Porifera

The phrase is a straightforward composition of the taxonomic rank 'phylum' and the taxon name 'Porifera'; if a B1 learner knows 'phylum' (a biological rank) and 'Porifera' (sponges), they can derive the meaning as the phylum that contains sponges. This noun + proper-name structure is compositional and cross-linguistically common, so the meaning is immediately recoverable from the parts.

Etymology

Phylum Porifera comes from two parts, pori and fera, where pori means 'pore' and fera means 'to carry', so it literally means 'animals that carry holes'. These simple water animals, called sponges, are full of tiny pores they use to filter food from the water, so the name helps you remember their hole-filled bodies.