Microcionidae Carter, 1875

Sim-Smith, Carina, Hickman, Cleveland & Kelly, Michelle, 2021, New shallow-water sponges (Porifera) from the Galápagos Islands, Zootaxa 5012 (1), pp. 1-71 : 48-49

Family Microcionidae Carter, 1875

Genus Clathria Schmidt, 1862

Diagnosis. Microcioninae with auxiliary styles in one or two categories forming various ectosomal structures ranging from membraneous paratangential to a dense erect palisade of brushes; choanosomal skeleton well-structure, hymedesmioid to reticulate, with mostly smooth styles enclosed within spongin fibres and fibres echinated by mostly acanthose smaller styles (from Hooper 2002b).

Subgenus Microciona Bowerbank, 1862a

Diagnosis. Clathria with persistently encrusting growth form, with hymedesmioid skeletal architecture consisting of a basal layer of spongin, typically with ascending, plumose, non-anastomosing spongin fibre nodes, and megascleres embedded and erect on basal layer (from Hooper 2002b).