The Classification and Evolution of Sponges and Starfish

For the purpose of this research project the subjects shall be cushion starfish a member of Phylum Echinodermata and Mycale sponge a member of Phylum Porifera. Both are members of Kingdom Animalia and invertebrates. The relative ages of each are Pre-Cambrian and early Cambrian to Ordovician respectively. Commonalities in physical characteristics and ancestry are obvious and inferred. These inferences are substantiated by included data and phylogenic tree depicting familial relationships as they pertain to these subjects. Also discussed are the specific physical traits depicting the differences in the Species as well as the classification of those Species into Kingdom, Phylum, and so on.
The first Species I will review is referred to commonly as Mycale, formerly known as Esperella. The Latin name for Mycale is Fibrexilis, it is a member of Phylum Porifera and Kingdom Animalia, Class Demospongiae, Order Poecilosclerida, Family Mycalidae, Genus Mycale, Species Fibrexilis.
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