Chondrilla caribensis Rützler, Duran & Piantoni, 2007

Van, Rob W. M., 2017, Sponges of the Guyana Shelf, Zootaxa 1, pp. 1-225 : 12

Chondrilla caribensis Rützler, Duran & Piantoni, 2007

Figures 3 a–b

Chondrilla nucula sensu Wilson 1902: 386 ; Hechtel 1965: 74; Wiedenmayer 1977: 186, pl. 41 figs 5–7, pl. 42 figs 1–2, text-fig. 178; Muricy et al. 2011: 52 (with many further synonyms) (Not: Schmidt 1862).

Chondrilla nucula forma mangle Duran & Rützler, 2006: 296.

Chondrilla nucula forma hermatypica Duran & Rützler, 2006: 296.

Chondrilla caribensis Rützler et al. 2007a: 100 , fig. 4.

Material examined. RMNH Por. 9816, Guyana, ‘Luymes’ Guyana Shelf Expedition, station 68, 7.4167°N 57.1333°W, depth 51 m, muddy sand bottom, 31 August 1970 ; RMNH Por. 10538, Suriname, ‘ Snellius O.C.P.S. ’ Guyana Shelf Expedition, station E66, 7.1°N 56.178°W, depth 65 m, Agassiz trawl, 10 May 1966 .

Description. Thinly encrusting smooth sponge ( Fig. 3 a), dark brown in alcohol, 6 x 5 cm in lateral expansion, thickness 2–4 mm. Consistency firm, slippery surface.

Choanosome. Cartilaginous, with an interior skeleton of scattered spherasters, concentrated at the surface.

Spicules. Spherasters ( Fig. 3 b), with small irregular spines on the apices of the conical rays, diameter 21– 27.6 –33 µm.

Distribution and ecology. Guyana Shelf, widespread throughout the Caribbean and NE Brazil, in mangroves, on reefs, and on sandy mud, 0.5–65 m (previously down to 51 m).

Remarks. The details provided here match those of the descriptions in Rützler et al. (2007a). The species was previously known in the region as Chondrilla nucula ( Schmidt, 1862) , but this is now considered to be restricted to the Mediterranean. Two ecological forma’s were distinguished by Duran & Rützler (2008), but as infrasubspecific units these names are not available in the sense of the ICZN. Subsequently, Rützler et al. (2007a) renamed the Caribbean species as C. caribensis .

Figures

FIGURE 3. Chondrilla caribensis Rützler, Duran & Piantoni, 2007, RMNH Por. 9816, a, habitus (scale bar = 1 cm), b, SEM image of spherasters.