Halichondria
Sign in to saveHalichondria is a genus of sea sponges belonging to the family Halichondriidae. These are massive, amorphous sponges with clearly separated inner and outer skeletons consisting of bundles of spicules arranged in a seemingly random pattern.
Taxonomy · GBIF
Bread-crumb Sponge
GENUS
- KingdomAnimalia
- PhylumPorifera
- ClassDemospongiae
- OrderSuberitida
- FamilyHalichondriidae
Observations3,054
Groupanimalia
via GBIF · iNaturalist · CC0
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- taxon
- Parent taxon
- Halichondriidae
- Image
- Sponge.noaa.jpg
Show 2 more facts
- P105
- genus
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Article
2 sectionsContents
- Species
- References
Halichondria is a genus of sea sponges belonging to the family Halichondriidae. These are massive, amorphous sponges with clearly separated inner and outer skeletons consisting of bundles of spicules arranged in a seemingly random pattern.
This genus of sponges became important through the discovery of cell division limiting properties of the extract Halichondrin B, which inhibits cell mitosis. The drug Eribulin, a related compound and an inhibitor of microtubule function, has become an important chemotherapy treatment for certain types of cancer.