Late Calcareous

The earliest assemblage of Cretaceous sponges has been found in the Cenomanian terrigenous rocks (the Melovatka suite) from the south of the Volga right bank region. A noticeable element of the assemblage is composed of small-sized Camerospongia, newly recognized in the region and peculiar for forming monotype colonies as well.

The Balantionella genus has been recognized by A. Schrammen (1902) from a single specimen and two skeleton fragments from a locality in the «quadrate» Cretaceous rocks in Germany. In the southeast of the Russian Plate, representatives of the genus have been determined within units from all the stages of the Upper Cretaceous. This has made it possible to provide characteristics and to trace the morphogenetic tendencies in the representatives of the group. Three subgenera and 12 species have been recognized.