Ridley & Dendy, 1886 : 484 Ridley & Dendy 1887 : 195 Hooper 2002a : 494 Sponges of the Guyana Shelf Van, Rob W. M. Zootaxa 2017 1 1 225 Ridley & Dendy, 1886 Ridley & Dendy 1886 [151,752,222,248] Demospongiae Raspailiidae Thrinacophora Animalia Poecilosclerida 63 64 Porifera species funiformis     Thrinacophora funiformis  Ridley & Dendy, 1886: 484;  Ridley & Dendy 1887: 195, pl. XIII fig. 1, pl. XXIV fig. 1;  Hooper 2002a: 494, fig. 14 (redescription of holotype); Muricy et al.2011: 150 (with further Brazilan records).    Material examined. RMNHPor. 9312, 9810, 9847, Suriname, ‘ Luymes O.C.P.S.II’ GuyanaShelf Expedition, station I121, 6.4717°N 55.0033°W, depth  33 m, triangular dredge,  25 April 1969;  RMNHPor. 9323, 9370, Guyana, ‘Luymes’ GuyanaShelf Expedition, station 107, 7.7°N 57.5°W, depth  65 m, muddy sand bottom with shells,  5 September 1970;  RMNHPor. 9356, Guyana, ‘Luymes’ GuyanaShelf Expedition, station 96, 6.8667°N 57.5167°W, depth  23 m, muddy sand and shells,  3 September 1970;  RMNHPor. 9767, Guyana, ‘Luymes’ GuyanaShelf Expedition, station 95, 6.9°N 57.5°W, depth  23–24 m, mixed hard bottom,  3 September 1970;  RMNHPor. 9808, Suriname, ‘Luymes’ GuyanaShelf Expedition, station 5, 6.6°N 53.55°W, depth  44 m, trawl, bottom calcareous sand,  24 August 1970;  RMNHPor. 9829, Guyana, ‘Luymes’ GuyanaShelf Expedition, station 94, 6.9333°N 57.5°W, depth  26 m, bottom muddy sand and shells,  2 September 1970;  RMNHPor. 9832, Guyana, ‘Luymes’ GuyanaShelf Expedition, station 87, 7.5667°N 57.2667°W, depth  59 m, bottom sand and shells,  2 September 1970;  RMNHPor. 9881, Suriname, ‘ Snellius O.C.P.S.’ GuyanaShelf Expedition, station G56, 7.26°N 56.6667°W, depth  67–68 m, Agassiz trawl,  10 May 1966;  RMNHPor. 9945, Guyana, ‘Luymes’ GuyanaShelf Expedition, station 63, 7.5833°N 57.0667°W, depth  71 m, sandy bottom,  31 August 1970;  RMNHPor. 9971, Suriname, ‘ Snellius O.C.P.S.’ GuyanaShelf Expedition, station F38, 7.23°N 56.4067°W, depth  81 m,  5 May 1966.   Description.( Figs 41a,a1) Strongly conulose branches, longest among the numerous collected specimens was 86 cm. Branches may be single, but usually have longer or shorter side branches in a low frequency. Thickness around 1 cm, with conules making up about half or more of that. Color in alcohol various shades of dark red to brown. Consistency firm.  Skeleton.An axially condensed reticulation of oxeas and styles, with the latter in ascending tracts and the oxeas interconnecting. Extra-axial skeleton consisting of single styles surrounded by bundles of thin crooked ‘cladostyles’, 80–100 µm in diameter, forming the characteristic conical surface projections.  Spicules.( Figs 41b–e) Long styles, oxeas, ‘cladostyles’, trichodragmas. Long styles ( Figs 41b,b1) of the conules and ectosomal region, smooth, slightly curved, about equidiametrical over much of the length, 538– 992– 1398 x 16– 25.1–32 µm. Oxeas ( Figs 41c,c1), curved, gradually or abruptly, sharply pointed, 324– 406–482 x 13– 19.7–23 µm. ‘Cladostyles’ of the conules ( Figs 41d,d1), thin, crooked or sinuous, equidiametrical, the opposite end of the normal rounded head end transformed to a multipronged apex ( Fig. 41d1), 267– 370–439 x 3.5– 5.2–7 µm. Raphides in trichodragmas ( Figs 41e,e1), 105– 118–129 x 7– 8.4–10 µm.   Distribution and ecology. GuyanaShelf, NE Brazil, sandy bottom at 12–81 mdepth ( GuyanaShelf 23–81 m).   Remarks.The present specimens conform closely to Ridley & Dendy’s description, including the peculiar ectosomal ‘cladostyles’ (sinuous styles with pronged apices). A second Central West Atlantic species is  Thrinacophora spinosa Wilson, 1902(p. 400), which is also quite similar in most aspects but lacks the pronged endings of the ectosomal styles. This latter feature is confirmed from examination of slides of the holotype USNM 7686. One further difference is the lesser thickness of the oxeas in  T. spinosa(250–300 x 6–10µm). 1424726421 1969-04-25 RMNH Luymes O. C. P. S. Suriname 33 6.4717 Suriname 7 -55.0033 63 64 1 1424726420 1970-09-05 RMNH Guyana 65 7.7 Guyana 7821 -57.5 63 64 1 1424726415 1970-09-03 RMNH Guyana 23 6.8667 Guyana 7 -57.5167 63 64 1 1424726399 1970-09-03 RMNH Guyana 24 6.9 Guyana 7828 -57.5 63 64 1 1424726405 1970-08-24 RMNH Suriname 44 6.6 Suriname 5582 -53.55 63 64 1 1424726427 1970-09-02 RMNH Guyana 26 6.9333 Guyana 5514 -57.5 63 64 1 1424726436 1970-09-02 RMNH Guyana 59 7.5667 Guyana 7 -57.2667 63 64 1 1424726430 1966-05-10 RMNH Snellius O. C. P. S. Suriname 68 7.26 Suriname 555 -56.6667 63 64 1 1424726441 1970-08-31 RMNH Guyana 71 7.5833 Guyana 7 -57.0667 63 64 1 1424726432 1966-05-05 RMNH Snellius O. C. P. S. Suriname 81 7.23 Suriname 555 -56.4067 63 64 1