Latrunculia (Latrunculia) novaecaledoniae, Samaai & Gibbons & Kelly, 2006

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 : 45

Latrunculia (Latrunculia) novaecaledoniae sp. nov.

( Fig. 1N, 2 ; Tables 2 & 3)

Latrunculia brevis ; Lévi, 1993, FIG. 10A; PL . III, FIG.3.

Holotype material. MNHN D.CL. 3549 (Biocal DW 33 ) labelled Latrunculia brevis identified by Lévi, C. 1993, microscope­slide, Jean Charcot Expedition , Nouvelle­Caledonie, stn DW 33, 23 09, 71' S., 167 10, 27'E', depth 675–680 m.

Description (from Lévi, 1993). Sponge massive, overlying and covering debri limestone, measuring 40/15/ 10 mm in diameter. Surface has large folds. Oscules visible, 2–3 mm in lengh and 0.5 mm broad. Colour in life unknown; in preservative reddish brown.

Skeleton. The choanosomal skeleton is cavernous consisting of a dense regular polygonal­meshed reticulation formed by wispy tracts of smooth styles, approximately 100 µm wide.

Spicules. Megascleres: styles slightly spined between head and mid region with narrow heads (almost strongyloxeate), fusiform and slightly sinuous, 400–460 m x 10 m [authors measurements 469 (455–482) x 13–14 m]. Microscleres: Anisodiscorhabds ( Fig. 1N), the manubrium is slightly spined, forming a tripod structure, with a basal whorl of spines separated just above the manubrium. Medium whorl is circular, broad, flat and horizontally arranged, being the largest of the three whorls, 32 m in diameter. The medium whorl is divided into three distinct segments, each possessing 8–9 denticulate margins. The subsidiary whorl is slanted upwards, separated from the apical whorl by an extended shaft, 30 m in length, the latter ending in a crown like tuft that looks like a capitulum. Acanthodiscorhabd length, 50 m ( Lévi 1993) [authors measurements 57 (57) m].

Etymology. Named after the type location New Caledonia.

Substratum, depth range and ecology. Found growing on limestone, depth range, 675–680 m

Geographic distribution ( Fig. 2 ). New Caledonia

Remarks. This new species clearly differs from Latrunculia from across the Eastern Pacific Ocean (i.e., L. palmata ; L. ikematsui ) in that the styles are larger on average ( Table 3) and are slightly spined, a character overlooked by Lévi (1993) when he described it as a species of L. brevis . Other more subtle differences are the robustness of the anisodiscorhabd, when compared to L. palmata , in which the basal whorl is slightly elevated from the manubrium. Apart from this, the acanthodiscorhabds are larger on average to the two Eastern Pacific Latrunculia species (see Table 3). This new species is only the second to be recorded with spination on the shaft of the anisostyle, the only other species being L. oparinae . A comparison of the styles of L. novaecaledoniae to that of L spinispiraefera also clearly shows differences in the morphology, the latter tending to have strongyloxeas rather than styles. The anisodiscorhabd of L. spinispiraefera also lacks the basal whorl that is characteristic of the subgenus Latrunculia and found in the species L. novaecaledoniae sp. nov., L. ikematsui and L. palmata .

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 10. Photomicrographs of choanosomal architectures: A. Latrunculia duckworthi Alvarez et al. 2002; B. Latrunculia wellingtonensis Alvarez et al. 2002; C. Latrunculia kaikoura Alvarez et al. 2002; D. Gross morphology of Latrunculia kaikoura Alvarez et al. 2002.