Cornulum johnsoni ( De Laubenfels, 1934 )

Van, Rob W. M., 2017, Sponges of the Guyana Shelf, Zootaxa 1, pp. 1-225 : 130-131

publication ID

https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.272951

publication LSID

lsid:zoobank.org:pub:6D68A019-6F63-4AA4-A8B3-92D351F1F69B

DOI

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5698686

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03A80010-77D6-FF2E-FF14-A20791DBFD1F

treatment provided by

Plazi

scientific name

Cornulum johnsoni ( De Laubenfels, 1934 )
status

 

Cornulum johnsoni ( De Laubenfels, 1934) View in CoL

Figures 80 View FIGURE 80 a–e

Coelosphaerella johnsoni De Laubenfels, 1934: 21 View in CoL .

Cornulum johnsoni View in CoL ; Van Soest 1984: 75; Van Soest et al. 1994: 186; Hooper 2002b: 419; Rützler et al. 2014: 56, fig. 31.

Material examined. RMNH 10545 View Materials , Suriname, ‘ Snellius O.C.P.S. ’ Guyana Shelf Expedition, station B23A, 7.297°N 55.3883°W, depth 99–101 m, Van Veen grab, 27 April 1966 GoogleMaps .

Examined for comparison. Slide of holotype of Coelosphaerella johnsoni , USNM 22364, First Johnson- Smithsonian Deep Sea Expedition stat. 81, coll. 26 February 1933, depth 200–400 fathoms.

Description. Tiny, elongately fistular sponge enveloping a piece of dead black coral. Size less than 3x 1 mm. Surface provided with several tiny projections less than 1 mm in height. Color (alcohol) white. Consistency fragile.

Skeleton. ( Fig. 80 View FIGURE 80 a) Tangential intercrossing tylotes cover the organic skin of the fistular body. No trace of choanosomal tracts was observed.

Spicules. ( Figs 80 View FIGURE 80 b–e) Tylotes, palmate isochelae, toxas.

Tylotes ( Figs 80 View FIGURE 80 b,b1), with strongly microspined apices, shaft curved, 225– 236 –249 x 4.5– 6.2 –7 µm.

Palmate isochelae ( Fig. 80 View FIGURE 80 c), in majority twisted, 15.5– 17.1 –19 µm.

Toxas (rare), in two size classes, (1) larger ( Fig. 80 View FIGURE 80 d) (n=2) 123–148 µm, and (2) smaller ( Fig. 80 View FIGURE 80 e) (n=3) 18–54 µm.

Distribution and ecology. Guyana Shelf, Puerto Rican Deep, soft bottom and shallow cryptic habitats, in a wide depth range, 1–720 m ( Guyana Shelf 99–101 m).

Remarks. Due to the scanty material and the toxas being relatively rare (these were not found on the SEM stub, only in the slide for light microscopy) the illustration is rather deficient. Nevertheless the toxas appeared to occur in larger and smaller sizes conforming to those of the type material from Puerto Rico . The type is much bigger (14 mm in diameter), but the skeleton and the spicules of the present specimens are almost the same. De Laubenfels (1934) gives the size of the tylotes as 9 by 420 µm, which is likely a misprint for 9 by 240 µm (observed in the type slide and in the present specimen), because in his remarks below the description of C. johnsoni he cites the Philippine species Coelosphaera (= Cornulum ) toxifera Wilson, 1925 as having ‘much larger megascleres’ at 16 by 360 µm.

Rützler et al. ’s (2014) images and spicule measurements of a specimen from Belize are also virtually identical to the present specimen.

RMNH

National Museum of Natural History, Naturalis

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Porifera

Class

Demospongiae

Order

Poecilosclerida

Family

Acarnidae

Genus

Cornulum

Loc

Cornulum johnsoni ( De Laubenfels, 1934 )

Van, Rob W. M. 2017
2017
Loc

Cornulum johnsoni

Rutzler 2014: 56
Hooper 2002: 419
Van 1994: 186
Van 1984: 75
1984
Loc

Coelosphaerella johnsoni

De 1934: 21
1934
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