Background Approximately 80% of all described extant sponge species belong to the class
Demospongiae. Yet, despite their diversity and importance, accurate divergence times are …

Sponges (phylum Porifera) are a large and ancient group of morphologically simple but
ecologically important aquatic animals. Although their body plan and lifestyle are relatively …

Unraveling the base of metazoan evolution is of crucial importance for rooting the metazoan
Tree of Life. This subject has attracted substantial attention for more than a century and …

Background Patterns of biodiversity in the subterranean realm are typically different from
those encountered on the Earth's surface. The Dinaric karst of Croatia, Slovenia and Bosnia …

There are more than 350 species of amphipods (Crustacea) in Lake Baikal, which have
emerged predominantly through the course of endemic radiation. This group represents a …

The Agelas genus sponges are widely distributed and provide shelter for organisms that
inhabit reefs. However, there is a lack of research on the genetic diversity of the Agelas …

Abstract Carnivorous sponges (Porifera, Demospongiae, Cladorhizidae), contrary to the
usual filter-feeding mechanism of sponges, are specialized in catching larger prey through …

A significant proportion of next-generation sequencing (NGS) data ends up not being used
since they comprise information out-of-scope of the primary studies. This 'waste'of potential …

Poriferan mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), especially large intergenic regions, is a target for the
insertion of repetitive hairpin-forming elements. These elements are responsible for the …

We report the mitochondrial genomes of two freshwater sponges, Spongilla lacustris and
Ephydatia cf. muelleri. The genomes contain 14 protein-coding genes and are similar in …