Dr Abhiranjan Kumar
Assistant Professor
BMD College, BRABU
Canal System in Sponges
Canal system in sponge body is a system of characteristic criss-crossing canals
(water channels) for water flow that communicate to exterior through numerous
apertures, the ostia and osculum. It is a characteristic feature of poriferans.
Callyspongia, having a body of 10 cm long and 4 cm diameter, pumps 78 litres of
water a day. Another sponge, Leuconia aspera having almost an identical body,
drains 22.5 litres.
The arrangement, and complexity of the canal system varies considerably in different
sponges and has been divided into four? types :
• Ascon type, with flagellated spongocoel
• Sycon type, with flagellated radial canals
• Leucon type, with flagellated chambers
• Rhagon type, with conical shape and broad base
1. ASCON TYPE
- simplest type of canal system and is found in some simple, thin-walled calareous sponges
(order Homocoela) - e.g. adult Leucosolenia and the Olynthus or Ascetta stage of Clathrina.
- Ostia or inhalant pores, each intracellular in a porocyte, lead directly (since the body wall is
very thin) into the spongocoel or paragastric cavity, which is lined by flagellated
choanocytes or collar cells. Spongocoel opens to the outside through a narrow circular
osculum located at the distal free end of the sponge body and is often fringed with large
monaxon spicules.
- Water enters through ostia into spongocoel and goes out of the body through the osculum.
The current flow is maintained by the beating (nonsynchronous) of the flagella of choanoctes
- In certain thick-walled homocoelan, ostia lead
into radial canals that open via apopyles into the
spongocoel. Both spongocoel and radial canals are
lined by choanocytes.
The course of water current is as follows:
Asconoid structure imposes limitations so the size of such sponges is always small.
The flow of water is also slow because the large spongocoel contains much water which
cannot be pushed out readily through the single osculum.
Complex forms (syconoid) have evolved by increasing surface to volume ratio as a
result of thickening and folding up of the body wall.
2. SYCON TYPE
- In syconoid sponges (order Heterocoela), e.g. Scypha and Grantia, Euplectella
- theoretically derived from the asconoid structure by the outpushing of the body wall into
blind finger-like diverticula (radial canals or flagellated chambers) at regular intervals.
Between them lie incurrent canals, blind at inner edge and lined with ectodermal
pinacocytes (as they represent the original outer surface of the asconoid sponge). Water
comes into it via incurrent pores or ostia and goes into the radial canals via minute pores
called prosopyles. The dermal ostia or (incurrent) dermal pores are intercellular
(perforating a pore membrane). Ostia are bounded by contractile myocytes and guarded by
projecting oxeas. Prosopyles are intercellular and correspond to the intracellular inhalant
pores of the Olynthus. Each radial canal opens into the spongocoel by an opening called
apopyle. Spongocoel is narrow and lined by pinacocytes and opens to exterior through the
osculum.
- Syconoids differ from asconoids in having thick folded walls with alternating radial and
incurrent canals, and the choanocytes or flagellated cells limited to the radial canals.
Radial symmetry has been retained.
The syconoid canal system is represented by three grades:
(i) Simple sycon type:
- In the simplest Heterocoela eg Sycetta.
- The radial canals are free projections, without touching at any point. Hence outside water surrounds their whole
length. The incurrent canals have not definitely formed.
(ii) Complex sycon type:
- in Scypha (= Sycon)
- Walls of adjacent radial canals are arranged (fused) in such a way as to leave (enclose) between them tubular
(definite canal-like) spaces, called the incurrent or inhalant canals.
- Radial canal opens by a wide aperture, called apopyle, into a short wide ex-current or exhalent canal which
communicates with the spongocoel by a very wide gastric or internal ostium. Finally, the spongocoel opens to the
exterior by osculum.
(iii) Sycon type with cortex:
- in Grantia, Grantiopsis, Heteropia, Ute, etc.
- A dermal membrane (epidermis plus a thin layer of mesenchyme) spread over the entire surface of the sponge
to form the cortex of variable thickness. Mesenchyme also accumulates in the wall of the spongocoel forming
the gastral cortex. With the development of cortex, sometimes, the incurrent canals become irregular,
branching and anastomosing, and may form large irregular cortical spaces or sub-dermal spaces.
Simple Syconoid Complex Syconoid Syconoid with Cortex
Sycetta vinitincta
Simple Syconoid
Complex Syconoid
Sycon
Grantia
compressa
Syconoid with Cortex
Grantia, near-median longitudinal section
Grantia sp.; stained cross section (related to Scypha)
Exterior Dermal ostia Dermal space Incurrent canal Prosopyle Radial canal Apopyle
Excurrent canal gastric or internal ostium Spongocoel Osculum Exterior
3. LEUCON TYPE
- Most common type.
- Formed by further repeated outfolding of the choanocyte layer and thickening of the body
wall of sycon type. The elongated syconoid radial canals get divided into clusters of small
rounded or oval flagellated (ciliated) chambers lined by the choanocytes. Excurrent
canals are formed as a result of division of spongocoel which has almost disappeared in
these sponges. The incurrent and excurrent canals may further get branched. The excurrent
canals may unite to form large tubes. The largest one (small spongocoel) leads to a small
osculum.
- Due to these changes, the sponge structure
become large, irregular (no symmetry) and
more efficient (narrow passages, instead of
spacious spongocoel, increase rate of water
flow)
3a. RHAGON TYPE
In calcareous sponges, leuconoid structures may arise by way of asconoid and syconoid
stages or directly from asconoid stage (Leucilla, Leucandra). But in non-calcareous sponges
or Demospongiae, the leuconoid condition is derived from a larval stage called the rhagon
(not found in adults); hence leucon type is sometimes also termed the rhagon type.
The rhagon body is a conical pyramid having a flagellated-chamberless broad base
(hypophare) and the upper walls (spongophare) with a row of flagellated chambers, tapering
towards the osculum – bearing apex. Mesenchyme is considerably thick and is traversed by
subdermal cavities and incurrent canals. Dermal pores or prosopyles lead into the flagellated
chambers which open into the central spongocoel by very wide apopyles.
Leucon type can be classified into the following types:
• Euryphylous: The flagellated chambers communicate directly by broad apopyles with the excurrent
canals, and by the prosopyles with the incurrent canals. The leuconoid Calcarea always remain at the
euryphylous stage.
In Demospongiae, it is attained from rhagon stage by way of spongophare outfoldings. It may be:
Simple euryphylous – Plakina
Complex euryphylous – A dermal membrane (like dermal cortex of Calcarea) spreads over the
openings of the incurrent sinuses. The outer part of sponge body, including the cortex and the sub-
dermal cavities, is termed ectosome while remaining inner region is choanosome. Eg Plakortis,
Tetilla
• Aphodal: The apopyle is drawn out as a narrow canal, called aphodus, between the flagellated
chamber and excurrent canal. E.g. Geodia. Stellata
• Diplodal: Besides aphodus, another narrow tube, called prosodus, is present between incurrent canal
and flagellated chamber. E.g., Oscarella (), Spongilla (rhagon type of diplodal leuconoid) and
Chondrosia, Corticium
The main advancement of leuconoid canal system over that of syconoid type of
canal system is due to:
(i) The limitation of choanocytes only to the small chambers,
(ii) The gradual development of the mesenchyme and
(iii) The elaboration and complication of the incurrent and excurrent water passages.
Mechanism of water circulation:
The planar beating of the flagella of choanocytes lining in the radial canals produces a water
current which is on one hand draws the water inside through the ostia and on the other hand
forces it to go out through the osculum. The choanocytes are arranged in such a way that
their collars are oriented towards the apopyles. But, as the flagella do not bear in co-
ordination, how such a synchronous flow of water current is produced is not clearly
understood.
The flagella of the choanocytes are flexible with slight stiffness at the base. As a result the
flagella beat from base to tip creating a water current in the same direction and drive the
water from the flagellated chambers to the spongocoel. To fill up the void within the
flagellated chambers the water is sucked into the radial chambers from the incurrent canals
through the small prosopyles.
Due to the larger size of the apopyles than the prosopyles, the water seeks larger outlets—the
apopyles and water leaves the spongocoel through a large elevated opening, the osculum.
Significance or Role or Functions of Canal System
A flow of water through the body is essential because there is no other fluid circulating in
the body. It supplies food e.g. diatoms, protozoa and particles of organic debris, and
oxygen and helps to remove waste products and gametes. Therefore, the canal system
serves the function of food collection, respiration, excretion and reproduction. In sponges,
as a result of development of elaborate canal system, massive growth is found. Canal
system also brings increase in the surface area of the animal (thus, increases ratio of the
surface to volume)
Evolution: In simple type of canal system, there is lesser number of cells and thin body
wall. As the canal system becomes more complex, the number of flagellated cells increases
and the force to draw water current is increased. The syconoid canal system is therefore
more efficient than the asconoid type and the leuconoid type is the most efficient.
