About the Authors

Rob W. M. Van Soest

rob.vansoest@ncbnaturalis.nl

Affiliation Netherlands Centre for Biodiversity Naturalis, Leiden, The Netherlands

Nicole Boury-Esnault

Affiliation Aix-Marseille University, Centre d'Océanologie de Marseille, CNRS, DIMAR, UMR 6540, Marseille, France

Jean Vacelet

Affiliation Aix-Marseille University, Centre d'Océanologie de Marseille, CNRS, DIMAR, UMR 6540, Marseille, France

Martin Dohrmann

Affiliation Department of Invertebrate Zoology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., United States of America

Dirk Erpenbeck

Affiliation Department of Earth- and Environmental Sciences & GeoBio-Center LMU, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Munich, Germany

Nicole J. De Voogd

Affiliation Netherlands Centre for Biodiversity Naturalis, Leiden, The Netherlands

Nadiezhda Santodomingo

Affiliation Paleontology Department, Natural History Museum, London, United Kingdom

Bart Vanhoorne

Affiliation Flanders Marine Institute - VLIZ, Innovocean Site, Oostende, Belgium

Michelle Kelly

Affiliation National Centre for Aquatic Biodiversity & Biosecurity, National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand

John N. A. Hooper

Affiliation Queensland Museum, South Brisbane, Queensland, and Eskitis Institute for Cell & Molecular Therapies, Griffiths University, Queensland, Australia

Competing Interests

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Author Contributions

Analyzed the data: NdV NS BV. Wrote the paper: RvS NBE JV MD DE NdV NS BV MK JH. Conceived, contributed introduction, Demospongiae, WPD, diversity, distributions, invasive species, conclusions: RvS. Contributed carnivorous sponges: JV MK. Contributed Hexactinellida: MD. Contributed Homoscleromorpha and Calcarea: NBE. Contributed new developments: DE. Contributed distribution, maps: NS BV. Performed biodiversity analysis: NdV. Contributed regional and online resources, conclusions and perspectives: JH.