Talk:Sponge

Helicolocellus

As of writing this, the oldest known definitive sea sponge (to my knowledge) is Helicolocellus, a Late Ediacaran crown group sponge apparently related to Hexactinellida. Other early putative sponges have had their poriferan identity questioned, such as Otavia, which has had its sponge affinity and even biogenicity questioned by Antcliffe et al. 2014 (Giving the early fossil record of sponges a squeeze). This genus does not appear to be referenced in this article. Should it be? Tourmaline Ctenacanth (talk) 23:50, 9 January 2025 (UTC)

I edited the article to include that and Arimasia. IC1101-Capinatator (talk) 14:29, 16 January 2025 (UTC)

Thanks! Tourmaline Ctenacanth (talk) 01:51, 17 January 2025 (UTC)

Tonian

Add possible tonian record to sponges and other confirmed huanian animais Wirth their highest non-kingdom valid group. Like this: Animal-history-cryogenian to present-possible tonian record. 2001:1308:2798:6500:E05C:23CF:2C3A:968B (talk) 01:08, 1 March 2025 (UTC)

It isn't obvious that a "possible" record should be added to any timeline; that's for known reliably-attested records. Chiswick Chap (talk) 18:27, 3 March 2025 (UTC)

Probable then? 2001:1308:268B:D300:4039:FC80:320A:801E (talk) 16:16, 4 March 2025 (UTC)

This isn't a negotiation. The timelines in all taxon articles are meant to be based on solid scientific opinion, cited in the article, that's all. Chiswick Chap (talk) 17:58, 4 March 2025 (UTC)

Placement of images in the article

I am concerned about the placement of the images in this article because I believe they do not comply with MOS:ACCIM and MOS:IMG. Some images are not placed in their related sections (Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Accessibility § Image placement). Additionally, some images sandwich the text (MOS:SANDWICH), while others spill into the next section (MOS:LAYIM). Furthermore, certain sections contain an excessive number of images (MOS:PERTINENCE). I attempted to address these issues twice, but they were reverted by @Epipelagic and Chiswick Chap. How should this problem be addressed? ZergTwo (talk) 03:42, 3 April 2025 (UTC)

Only one of the three images you removed was reinstated. That was the image depicting the bathymetric range of certain sponge species, which was repositioned next to a related section discussing deep-sea sponges. You were asked why you thought that image should be removed, but you didn’t provide a coherent reason. However, I see, because of mobile phones, the guidelines have become very specific about image placement within sections. Thank you for highlighting that. I’ve made an edit with relevant adjustments to comply with those guidelines. — Epipelagic (talk) 05:10, 3 April 2025 (UTC)

Yes, the change in guidelines is significant, I'm certain we'll have to do a good bit of checking across the piece to comply. Chiswick Chap (talk) 07:50, 3 April 2025 (UTC)

Move discussion in progress

There is a move discussion in progress on Talk:Sponge (tool) which affects this page. Please participate on that page and not in this talk page section. Thank you. —RMCD bot 21:16, 28 December 2025 (UTC)

"Freshwater sponge" listed at Redirects for discussion

The redirect Freshwater sponge has been listed at redirects for discussion to determine whether its use and function meets the redirect guidelines. Readers of this page are welcome to comment on this redirect at Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion/Log/2026 January 21 § Freshwater sponge until a consensus is reached. — Anonymous 02:32, 21 January 2026 (UTC)

Move discussion in progress

There is a move discussion in progress on Talk:Sponge (disambiguation) which affects this page. Please participate on that page and not in this talk page section. Thank you. —RMCD bot 17:48, 9 April 2026 (UTC)

Rename to Sea Sponge

Perhaps renaming "Sponge" to "Sea Sponge" to remove ambiguity ? Open to discussion ​​ &RezAlt! (talk) 22:50, 21 May 2026 (UTC)

I second this. Given the prevalence of sponges as a tool, rather than animal, this is a better way to disambiguate between different pages. Additionally, I feel "sea sponge" is a more common term for the animal than simply "sponge". End (talk) 22:58, 21 May 2026 (UTC)

This has been discussed in the past (see also the section immediately below), and also in a more recent requested move. I don't think this should be moved because the phylum is the primary topic of "sponge", and "sea sponge" would be a less concise title (not to mention that not all sponges are marine). If you still think the article should be moved, I suggest opening another requested move. Chess enjoyer (talk) 01:23, 22 May 2026 (UTC)

How would I do that ? I'm fairly new to wikipedia, any help would be appreciated. &RezAlt! (talk) 03:07, 22 May 2026 (UTC)

Instructions can be found at WP:RSPM. You can also open them through Twinkle, if you choose to enable it. Chess enjoyer (talk) 03:12, 22 May 2026 (UTC)

Thank you so much ! &RezAlt! (talk) 13:59, 22 May 2026 (UTC)

Requested move 22 May 2026

Sponge → Sea spongeSea sponge – Removing Ambiguity. This is an official move request for the Rename to Sea Sponge Topic. &RezAlt! (talk) 14:02, 22 May 2026 (UTC)

Note: I took the liberty of converting the requested title to sentence case, assuming that was just a typographical error. —⁠ ⁠BarrelProof (talk) 15:23, 22 May 2026 (UTC)

Thank you, much appreciated. &RezAlt! (talk) 19:16, 22 May 2026 (UTC)

Note: There was a recent discussion about this proposed title at Talk:Sponge (disambiguation)#Requested move 9 April 2026. —Myceteae‍🍄‍🟫 (talk) 15:51, 22 May 2026 (UTC)

And boy did this confuse me when I just happened to end up at this article while reading about different phyla and seeing an active requested move discussion that I thought there should be no way for to still be open...⹃Maltazarian ^{ᚾparley$\lor$investigateᛅ} 21:47, 22 May 2026 (UTC)

Sorry for the confusion, Maltazarian. I did not realize there was a Move Request last month. &RezAlt! (talk) 14:33, 23 May 2026 (UTC)

• Oppose per consensus at last month's RM. 162 etc. (talk) 16:19, 22 May 2026 (UTC)
• Support but only if the DAB is moved to the base name otherwise Britannica uses just Sponge. Given there was clear consensus against this last month (I was the nom) I think you should have waited a while for this but I'm fine with leaving this open given we have a different target. Crouch, Swale (talk) 20:28, 22 May 2026 (UTC)

  Sure. I'm sorry about the requested move so early, I am new to wikipedia and was not present. &RezAlt! (talk) 01:59, 23 May 2026 (UTC)

• Oppose: sea sponge is 1) a minority usage and 2) inaccurate as there are freshwater sponges. Lavateraguy (talk) 23:28, 22 May 2026 (UTC)

  I see the point of 2, but do not agree that this is a minority usage. Why do you think that &RezAlt! (talk) 14:34, 23 May 2026 (UTC)

  1) because I can't recall when I last (if ever) saw "sea sponge" used outside this discussion, and 2) according to Google Ngrams "sponge" is vastly more common than "sea sponge" (even after discounting for other meanings it seems unlikely to be even close). Lavateraguy (talk) 15:09, 24 May 2026 (UTC)

Note: WikiProject Animals and WikiProject Marine life have been notified of this discussion. Chess enjoyer (talk) 22:59, 22 May 2026 (UTC)

WikiProject Tree of Life as well. Chess enjoyer (talk) 23:06, 22 May 2026 (UTC)

• Leaning opposed due to freshwater sponges. —⁠ ⁠BarrelProof (talk) 01:17, 23 May 2026 (UTC)

  It is the common name however, and Wikipedia has been known to prioritize the removing of ambiguity over technicalities &RezAlt! (talk) 02:01, 23 May 2026 (UTC)

• Oppose. Pageviews indicate this is clearly the WP:primary topic. - Station1 (talk) 03:16, 23 May 2026 (UTC)
• Support per nom, and move DAB to basename. I don't see how the creature is PRIMARY by long-term significance over the daily used sponges.--Ortizesp (talk) 20:57, 23 May 2026 (UTC)
• Oppose This does not fall under WP:NATURAL as it makes the scope smaller. Not all sponges live in the sea. And it has far higher pageviews than the tool, as shown in the last move discussion. ᴢxᴄᴠʙɴᴍ (ᴛ) 01:39, 24 May 2026 (UTC)
• Oppose. Extensive discussion during the last RM did identify some dissent but ultimately no compelling argument that Sponge is not the primary topic nor that Sea sponge or any alternative title is better. Though the terms are sometimes used interchangeably, sea sponge may inaccurately be interpreted as suggesting that all sponges live in the sea, which would exclude freshwater sponges. Overall the current situation is not broke and does not require fixing, and the proposed "fix" results in a less accurate title. —Myceteae‍🍄‍🟫 (talk) 18:44, 24 May 2026 (UTC)
  • I don't see the compelling argument for why it's primary. Ask the average layperson, and a good chunk will say the cleaning tool comes to mind first. This should be moved to Porifera, with a DAB at basename.--Ortizesp (talk) 22:56, 24 May 2026 (UTC)

    Ask the average layperson, and a good chunk will say the cleaning tool comes to mind first – Primary topics aren't just the first thing you think of. Chess enjoyer (talk) 23:20, 24 May 2026 (UTC)