Editing Sponge (section)

==== Life cycle ====
[[File:Bathymetrical range of selected sponge species.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|right|Bathymetrical range of some sponge species.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Łukowiak |first=M. |title=Utilizing sponge spicules in taxonomic, ecological and environmental reconstructions: a review |journal=PeerJ |volume=8 |pages=e10601 |date=18 December 2020 |pmid=33384908 |pmc=7751429 |doi=10.7717/peerj.10601 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Demosponge ''[[Samus anonymus]]'' (up to 50&nbsp;m), [[hexactinellid]] ''Scleroplegma lanterna'' (~100–600&nbsp;m), hexactinellid ''Aulocalyx irregularis'' (~550–915&nbsp;m), lithistid demosponge ''Neoaulaxinia persicum'' (~500–1700&nbsp;m)]]

Sponges in [[temperate]] regions live for at most a few years, but some [[Tropics|tropical]] species and perhaps some deep-ocean ones may live for 200&nbsp;years or more. Some calcified [[demosponge]]s grow by only {{convert|0.2|mm|in|abbr=on}} per year and, if that rate is constant, specimens {{convert|1|m|ft|abbr=on}} wide must be about 5,000&nbsp;years old. Some sponges start sexual reproduction when only a few weeks old, while others wait until they are several years old.<ref name="Ruppert_2004"/>