Sceptrulophora

Sceptrulophora (from Ancient Greek, σκῆπτρον, skêptron - "sceptre" and -φόρος, -phóros - "bearing") is an order of hexactinellid sponges, commonly known as Glass sponges, characterized by sceptrule spicules, that is, "microscleric monactinal triaxonic spicules that include clavules with terminel umbels or smooth heads." Species of the order Sceptrulophora have existed since the Jurassic period, and still flourish today. While there is ongoing debate about the organization of various taxa in Sceptrulophora, the monophyly of the taxon Sceptrulophora is supported by the presence of in most of the extant species, and has recently been further supported by DNA sequencing. rdf:langString