Poriferologist

Besides Dr. Nigrelli the party included Dr. Martin F. Stempien, Jr., of the Aquarium staff, Dr. Gustavo Pulitzer, a marine ecologist and poriferologist of Portofino, Italy

Poriferologists generally agree that a sponge mass bounded by pinacocytes is an individual rather than a colony.

The great variability in sponge morphology and the difficulty in precisely setting the limits of a sponge species have probably driven many potential poriferologists to frustration (and to other taxa) early in their careers.