Type species: Clathrina clathrus (Schmidt, 1864).
Genus diagnosis. Clathrinidae in which the choanoderm is flat or rarely raised into conuli by the apical actines of the tetractines, but never forms true folds, at least when the sponge is in the extended state. The full-grown cormus comprises anastomosed tubes. The skeleton is composed of regular, equiangular and equiradiate triactines and/or tetractines, to which diactines and/or tripods may be added (from Borojevic et al. 2002).