Morphological description (show/hide)
| Thickly lobate, massive, bulbous-encrusting sponge with lobes/bulbs fused to adjacent bulbs, between 20-55mm diameter, up to about 40mm high, spreading about 120mm across dead coral substrate. | | Pale yellow-brown or khaki-brown alive (Munse | | Well developed sculpturing, consisting of close-set, interconnected microconules, forming web-like striations on surface. Large oscules situated on apex of bulbs, 2-8mm diameter, with slightly raised rims, contracting to smaller diameter when preserved. | | Skeletal architecture reticulate, with differentiated primary (multispicular) and secondary (uni- and paucispicular) spongin fibres. Primary fibres usually fully cored with choanosomal strongyles, 50-90ï¾µm diameter, secondary fibres with fewer spicules packed abreast, 15-40ï¾µm diameter. Fibre reticulation produces elongate, oblong or oval meshes, 35-140ï¾µm diameter, with moderate quantities of collagen and foreign particles, and abundant microscleres. Choanocyte chambers not observed, obscured by foreign debris, microscleres and loose megascleres. | | membranous, lightly arenaceous, with abundant heavily pigmented spongin, but without specialised spicule skeleton. Irregular plumose tufts of choanosomal strongyles protrude through surface, paratangential or erect on surface, more-or-less corresponding to position of surface conules, ectosome rarely intact in preserved material. | | Choanosomal strongyles long, thick or thin, slightly curved, symmetrical or asymmetrical (218-(257.3)-280 x 3-(5.7)-9). | | Microxeas clearly divided into two sizes, both relatively long, stout, widest at midsection (I:28-(38.0)-51 x 0.5-(0.9)-1.2, II:69-(79.1)-94 x 0.8-(1.6)-2.0). Raphides abundant, long, straight, hair like (79-(86.5)-115 x 0.2-(0.6)-0.8). Sigmas incompletely divided into two sizes, both with c- and s-shaped examples, relatively thick, evenly curved at centre (I:13-(22.4)-36 x 0.8-(1.1)-1.5, II:50-(67.7)-85 x 1.8-(2.4)-3.5). |
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Reference (show/hide)
| Erpenbeck D, Hall K, Alvarez B, Büttner G, Sacher K, Schätzle S, Schuster A, Vargas S, Hooper JNA, Wörheide G (in press) The phylogeny of halichondrid demosponges: past and present re-visited with DNA-barcoding data. The phylogeny of halichondrid demosponges: past and present re-visited with DNA-barcoding data. Organisms Diversity & Evolution. |
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