Cladorhizidae Dendy, 1922

Lundsten, Lonny, Reiswig, Henry M. & Austin, William C., 2014, Four new species of Cladorhizidae (Porifera, Demospongiae, Poecilosclerida) from the Northeast Pacific, Zootaxa 3786 (2), pp. 101-123 : 104

Family Cladorhizidae Dendy, 1922

Diagnosis. Sponges, typically small, symmetrical, usually from deep water, with diagonal, radiating supporting processes and basal root adaptations for those living in soft sediments. Axial skeleton composed of monactinal or diactinal megascleres, from which radiating extra-axial tracts diverge to lateral processes. Microscleres include (an)isochelae, sigmas, forceps or micro(subtylo)styles (microspined, spear-shaped in a few cases). Considerable reduction to complete loss of the choanocytes being associated with an adaptation to carnivory ( Hajdu & Vacelet, 2002).