Morphological description (show/hide)
| Massive, subcyllindrical mass 40-65 mm high, 85-120 mm broad, composed of irregularly reticulate, lamellate bulbous branches, up to 15 mm diameter, standing erect on substrate. | | Live colouration bright orange-yellow to brig | | Small oscules, up to 1.5 mm diameter, on edges and tips surface bulbs. | | . | | Surface uneven, porous, optically smooth | | Choanosomal skeleton irregularly reticulate, with regular circular, oval or elongate meshes enclosing small oval choanocyte chambers. Spongin fibres relatively heavy, without size differentiation of primary or secondary components, although ascending (primary) skeletal fibres cored by paucispicular or multispicular tracts of choanosomal styles, whereas connecting, transverse (secondary) fibres uni-, pauci- or entirely aspicular. Echinating acanthostyles sparse, scattered evenly throughout skeleton, occasionally incorporated into fibres. Collagenous spongin very light, with some choanosomal styles scattered between fibres within the mesohyl. | | Ectosome with tangential or paratangential layer of thin subectosomal auxiliary subtylostyles, on or just below a membranous dermal layer. Subectosomal auxiliary styles confined entirely to peripheral skeleton. Subectosomal skeleton virtually non-existent, with only few erect, plumose choanosomal principal styles, arising from peripheral choanosomal spongin fibres, projecting into tangential ectosomal layer. | | Choanosomal principal styles thin, fusiform, occasionally styloid, slightly curved, with rounded or very slightly subtylote, smooth bases (94-(168.4)-268 x 2.5-(4.1)-5). Subectosomal auxiliary subtylostyles slightly curved, sometimes sinuous, exceedingly thin, hastate, almost vestigial, with very slightly subtylote, smooth bases (92-(171.3)-219 x 1.5-(2.9)-4). Acanthostyles subtylote, with more-or-less evenly distributed vestigial (granular) spination (48-(58.3)-65 x 3-(3.7)-5). | | Palmate isochelae small, unmodified (4.5-(6.7)-9). Toxas rare, thin, with sharply angular central curvature and straight arms (22-(69.8)-111 x x 0.5-(0.9)-1.5). |
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