Genus Callyspongia Duchassaing & Michelotti, 1864

Subgenus Cladochalina Schmidt, 1870

Callyspongia (Cladochalina) vaginalis (Lamarck, 1814) Figs. 2 A–D

Spongia villosa Pallas, 1766: 242 .

Spongia vaginalis Lamarck, 1814: 436 .

Callyspongia (Spinosella) vaginalis; Van Soest, 1980: 56; Zea, 1987: 103. Spinosella vaginalis; Lehnert, 1993: 45 –46.

Callyspongia (Cladochalina) vaginalis; Desqueyroux­Faúndez & Valentine, 2002: 843. Further synonymy: see Van Soest (1980) and Zea (1987).

Examined material. MCNPOR 4786, 31 m, 0 0o 20’38”S– 44o17’38”W, 12.VI.1999 (fragment deposited in ZMAPOR 17905).

Material studied for comparison. Callyspongia villosa (Pallas, 1766), collected by R/V Oregon II, off the mouth of the Amazon river, fragment deposited in MCNPOR 2489 (det. Klaus Rützler).

Description. Large fragment, possibly tube­shaped, with a short coalescent erect tube near to sponge bottom (Fig. 2 A), featuring a rounded apical vent; near to atrial vent the walls are very thin (20 cm height, 23.5 cm widest expansion, <0.1–1.0 cm thickness). Size of coalescent tube: 5.5 cm height, 4.5 cm in diameter, 6 cm deep. Outer surface conulose; between the conules occur rounded to elliptic orifices, <0.1–3.0 cm in diameter. Conules extremely thin and sharp­pointed, 3–6 mm height; 2–9 mm apart. Inner surface smooth, rough to the touch. Oscules <0.1–15 cm in diameter; 0.1–8.0 cm apart. Preserved material with soft consistence; colour light brown.

Skeleton. Ectosome with a tangential reticulation, sustained by the extremities of ascending choanosomal primary fibres (Fig. 2 B). Primary fibres uni­ to paucispicular (2–3 spicules), 17.5–37.5 µm in diameter, forming polygonal meshes, 210–430 µm width.

These meshes are subdivided by unispicular secondary fibres, 3.8–12.5 µm in diameter, forming triangular or polygonal meshes, 40–110 µm width. Choanosome with uni­ to paucispicular primary fibres (2–12 spicules), 30–82.5 µm in diameter (Fig. 2 C). Secondary fibres are uni­ to paucispicular (2–3 spicules), 17.5–42.5 µm in diameter. Tertiary fibres unispicular, 5.0–12.5 µm width.

Spicules. Oxeas (Figs. 2 D): fusiform, straight or slightly curved, mucronate ends, some with hastate, conical and acerate ends: 65– 83. 9 –97.5 / 2.5– 2. 7 –3.8 µm.

Remarks. The specimen studied here was identified based on the sample collected by Collette & Rützler (1977) off the mouth of the Amazon River, as Callyspongia villosa (reexamined: oxeas: 75– 80. 1 –87.5/2.5 µm). Our sample matches with other descriptions (Wiedenmayer, 1977; Van Soest, 1980; Zea, 1987); however, the habit is a bit extreme, with many sharp conules.

Distribution. West Atlantic: North Carolina to Venezuela (Van Soest, 1980; Zea, 1987). Brazilian coast: off the mouth of Amazon River (Collette & Rützler, 1977); Maranhão State (present study); Recife, Pernambuco State (Hechtel, 1976).