Latrunculia (Latrunculia) bocagei Ridley and Dendy, 1886

Samaai, Toufiek, Gibbons, Mark J. & Kelly, Michelle, 2006, Revision of the genus Latrunculia du Bocage, 1869 Porifera: Demospongiae: Latrunculiidae) with descriptions of new species from New Caledonia and the Northeastern Pacific (, Zootaxa 1127 (1), pp. 1-71 : 14-15

Latrunculia (Latrunculia) bocagei Ridley and Dendy, 1886

( Figs 1B, 2 , 3A, 4A ; Tables 2 & 3)

Latrunculia bocagei Ridley and Dendy, 1886: 492 ; 1887: 238, PL. XLIV FIG. 1, PL. XLV FIGS 8, 8A. L . lendenfeldi; Burton, 1932, p. 340

Holotype material. BMNH 1887.5 .2.237, ethanol preserved sample and microscope­slides, Kerguelen Challenger Expedition, depth 18–31 m.

Additional material. Holotype (part of) BMNH 1887.5.2.238, ethanol preserved sample and microscope­slides, Kerguelen Challenger Expedition, depth 18– 31 m. BMNH 1928.2.15.821 labeled Latrunculia lendenfeldi Hentschel, 1914 identified by Burton, HMS Discovery investigation, Stn. 88, Falkland Islands, 54º 00'S; 57º 30'S, wet subsample; depth 96– 127 m. BMNH 1928.2.15.825 labeled Latrunculia lendenfeldi Hentschel, 1914 identified by Burton, HMS Discovery investigation, Stn. WS 243, Falkland Islands, 54º 00'S; 57º 30'S, wet subsample; depth 141– 144 m.

Diagnosis. Massive, semispherical sponge ( Fig. 3A) with numerous volcano­shaped or cylindrical oscules, and mammiform areolate porefields. Ectosome thick, leathery, not separable from underlying choanosome. Colour in life dark brown, in preservative pale yellow. The choanosomal skeleton is a very irregular polygonal­meshed reticulation formed by wispy tracts of smooth styles ( Fig. 4A ), ranging in width from 91–120 µm in thickness, forming meshes that are 200 µm wide. The surface of the ectosome is aligned with an erect layer of anisodiscorhabds. Beneath the anisodiscorhabds in the ectosome is a thick layer of densely interlocking oblique megascleres, approximately 700 µm wide. Styles are smooth, centrally thickened, fusiform and faintly sinuous, 510 (455–547) x 16 (16–18) m, n=20. Anisodiscorhabds ( Fig. 1B), have an expanded spinose manubrium, above which is a closely associated basal whorl of spines. The microsclere shaft is 20 m long and 7 µm wide. The medium whorl is midway, similar in diameter to the subsidiary and apical whorls, and is deeply notched along the rim and divided into four segments each segment possessing a denticulate margins or 7–8 spines. The spines of the apical whorl are slanted slightly upwards ending in a crown­like tuft of blunt terminally spined projections. Anisodiscorhabd length, 66 (57–71) µm, n=20. This species was collected from both the Kerguelen and Falkland Islands in the Southern Hemisphere at a depth of between 18–144 m (after Samaai and Kelly, 2002).

Geographic distribution. ( Fig. 2 ). Kerguelen and Falkland Islands.

Remarks. This species has not been recorded since the first collection from Kerguelen by Ridley and Dendy (1886, 1887). The form of the anisodiscorhabd and the structure of the crown­like tuft are distinguishing features for this species. The crown is formed of blunt terminally spined projections as opposed to spines. Although the median whorl is midway, it is similar in diameter to the subsidiary and apical whorls, which are all more or less perpendicular to the shaft. The anisodiscorhabd is large and has a long slender shaft.

Two of the voucher samples identified by Burton (1932) (BMNH 1928.2.15.821; 1928.2.15.825) as L. lendenfeldi Hentschel (1914) are in fact specimens of L. bocagei , as confirmed by the structure of the apical whorl or crown­like tufts, which are blunt and terminally spined (see Table 2 & 3). Examination of the type species of L. lendenfeldi ( Hentschel 1914) (Holotype ZMB 4812), indicated that this species ( L. lendenfeldi Hentschel ) is not conspecific with either L. bocagei or L. lendenfeldi (Burton) and is clearly a dustbin assemblages. The validity of L. lendenfeldi is also questionable as it is defined as a synonym of L. basilis based on the structure of the anisodiscorhabd, spicule lengths (see Table 3) and locality (see Table 2) of this species.

Figures

FIGURE 2. Worldwide distributions of Latrunculia (Latrunculia) species. Distributions of 1) Latrunculia cratera du Bocage, 2) L. bocagei Ridley and Dendy, 3) L. apicalis Ridley and Dendy, 4) L. biformis Kirkpatrick, 5) Latrunculia basilis Kirkpatrick, 6) L. brevis Ridley and Dendy, 7) Latrunculia palmata Lévi, 8) Latrunculia multirotalis Topsent, 9) Latrunculia crenulata Lévi, 10) Latrunculia ikematsui Tanita, 11) Latrunculia oxydiscorhabda Alvarez et al., 12) Latrunculia triverticillata Alvarez et al., 13) Latrunculia fiordensis Alvarez et al., 14) Latrunculia novaecaledoniae sp. nov.

FIGURE 4. Photomicrographs of choanosomal architectures: A. L. bocagei Ridley and Dendy 1886; B. Latrunculia apicalis Ridley and Dendy 1886; C. Latrunculia biformis Kirkpatrick 1908; D. Latrunculia basilis Kirkpatrick 1908; E. Latrunculia brevis Ridley and Dendy 1887; F. Latrunculia multirotalis Topsent 1905.