Minchinellidae
| Minchinellidae Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
| Porosphaera globularis fossil from the Cretaceous of Germany | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Porifera |
| Class: | Calcarea |
| Order: | Lithonida Vacelet, 1981 |
| Family: | Minchinellidae Dendy & Row, 1913 |
| Genera | |
|
see text. | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Minchinellidae is a family of calcareous sponges, members of the class Calcarea. It is the only family in the monotypic order Lithonida. The families Petrobionidae (genus Petrobiona) and Lepidoleuconidae (genus Lepidoleucon) have also sometimes been placed within Lithonida, though more recently they have been moved to the order Baerida. Thanks to their hypercalcified structure, minchinellids have a fossil record reaching as far back as the Jurassic Period.