Geodiidae Gray, 1867

Sim-Smith, Carina & Kelly, Michelle, 2019, Review of the sponge genus Penares (Demospongiae, Tetractinellida, Astrophorina) in the New Zealand EEZ, with descriptions of new species, Zootaxa 4638 (1), pp. 1-56 : 4

Family Geodiidae Gray, 1867

Geodiadae Gray, 1867:504.

Geodinidae Schmidt, 1870:68.

Sterrastrosa Sollas, 1887, 1888:209.

Diagnosis. Thickly encrusting, massive or globular sponges with a well-developed double-layered cortex that may contain sterrasters and/or aspidasters in the endocortex, and may contain spherasters, oxyasters, oxyspherasters, spherules, microrhabds or microxeas in the ectocortex. Oxeas and triaenes are either strictly radial to subradial in their arrangement within the choanosome. Megascleres are oxeas and predominantly dichotriaenes, orthotriaenes and/or plagiotriaenes, but various other forms of triaenes may be present including anatriaenes, protriaenes and a form of vestigial triaene (after Uriz 2002b).