UTE INSULAGEMMAE VAN SOEST & DE VOOGD, 2018

(FIGS 26–28; TABLE 12)

Synonym: Ute insulagemmae, Van Soest & De Voogd, 2018: 92 .

M a t e ri a l e x a m i n e d: U F R J P O R 8 92 5 (= 171109- PAE2 -TP1, Photos:TP6017–6018, TP6051). UFRJPOR 8938 (= 171109- PAE2 -TP14, Photo: TP6052). UFRJPOR 8943 (= 171109- PAE2 -TP18, Photo: TP 6050 or TP 6057). UFRJPOR 8948 (= 171109- PAE2 -TP23, Photo: TP6061). Passe de l’Hermitage Reef, La Réunion, Indian Ocean, coll. T. Pérez, 9 November 2017, 18– 20 m depth. UFRJPOR 8929 (= 171110- ESB2 -TP4, Photos: TP6129–6130). UFRJPOR 8942 (= 171110- ESB 2 -TP 5, Photo: TP6131). Portail Caves, La Réunion, Indian Ocean, coll. T. Pérez, 9 November 2017, 25 m depth .

Type locality: Bijoutier Island, Amirantes, Seychelles, Indian Ocean .

Colour: This species can have several colours (Fig. 26). Some were mostly pink but white at the base (UFRJPOR 8925; Fig. 26A) or white with a pink sponge budding (UFRJPOR 8929) or even lemonyellow (UFRJPOR 8938; Fig. 26B), white but pink near the osculum (UFRJPOR 8942) or completely white (UFRJPOR 8943, 8948; Fig. 26C). They all become beige in ethanol (Fig. 26D).

Morphology and anatomy: Sponge with a shape of vase with one single apical osculum surrounded by a crown of trichoxeas and with a delicate sphincter (Fig. 26A–D). The crown is supported by T-shape triactines (Fig. 27A). Frequently there are sponges budding from another and they keep connected to each other (Fig. 26D). Surface smooth, covered by huge longitudinal diactines (Fig. 27B–D). These diactines protrude through the surface near the osculum (Fig. 27A). The surface is perforated by ostia surrounded by tiny curved triactines, giving a honeycomb appearance to it (Fig. 27C, D). The aquiferous system is syconoid (Fig. 27B). The cortical skeleton is composed of the giant longitudinal diactines and by the tiny triactines of the ostia (Fig. 27C). Below, the articulated tubar skeleton is composed of triactines pointing their unpaired actine to the surface (Fig. 27D, E). The subatrial skeleton has triactines and few tetractines and the atrial skeleton has only tetractines (Fig. 27E). The atrium is hispid (Fig. 27E, F).