poriferan

American

[paw-rif-er-uhn, poh-, puh-] / pɔˈrɪf ər ən, poʊ-, pə- /

noun

any animal of the phylum Porifera, comprising the sponges.

adjective

belonging or pertaining to the Porifera.

poriferan British

/ pɔːˈrɪfərən /

noun

any invertebrate of the phylum Porifera, which comprises the sponges

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

adjective

of, relating to, or belonging to the phylum Porifera

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of poriferan

First recorded in 1860–65; Porifer(a) + -an

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

A research team now claims that the tiny fossil pictured above, discovered in southern China and dated to 600 million years ago—clearly during the Precambrian—is the oldest known poriferan.

From Science Magazine

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023