The Sponge Barcoding Project is a worldwide scientific initiative focused on documenting the diversity of Porifera, the phylum of sponges. It aims to cover all sponge groups, including Demospongiae, Hexactinellida, Calcarea and Homoscleromorpha, across marine habitats from intertidal areas to the deep sea, as well as freshwater environments. The project builds a reference resource by pairing DNA barcode sequences with conventional morphological and taxonomic information.

Its samples include recently described type specimens held in museums, particularly holotypes, alongside additional material identified by taxonomic experts before being added. The Sponge Barcoding Database is the project’s main access point for these sequences and associated specimen information. This combined resource supports sponge identification and research by taxonomists and ecologists, while helping guide further sampling and the discovery of species.

The project addresses the challenges of identifying a highly diverse and ecologically important group, which also has commercial relevance to pharmaceutical and biomaterials industries