Corbitella cf. elegans (Marshall, 1875)

Tabachnick, Konstantin R. & Menschenina, Dorte Janussen And Larisa L., 2008, New Australian Hexactinellida (Porifera) with a revision of Euplectella aspergillum *, Zootaxa 1866 (1), pp. 7-68 : 58-61

publication ID

https://doi.org/ 10.11646/zootaxa.1866.1.3

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/0398E958-4871-157B-FF41-087613B8FCB9

treatment provided by

Felipe

scientific name

Corbitella cf. elegans (Marshall, 1875)
status

 

Corbitella cf. elegans (Marshall, 1875) View in CoL ( Fig. 28 View FIGURE 28 , Tab. 26)

Material. WAM Z 266 About WAM (4 specimens) RV Soela , sta. SO 1/84/122, W of Broom, 17 o 59’–54’ S 118 o 23’ –29’E, depth 389–390 m. Corbitella speciosa , holotype MNHN – RV Astrolabe , off the Molukkas Islands .

Description. Body: At least two sponges are represented by fragments of the walls and the basal parts. The biggest basal part is 110 mm in length and oval in section 120x 170 mm, the walls are 2–4 mm in thickness with lateral oscula 2–5 mm in diameter.

Spicules: Choanosomal spicules are large diactins, the largest ones fused; they are several mm in length and up to 0.15 mm in diameter. The smaller diactins, 0.7–1.4/ 0.003 ­0.015 mm, are loose spicules with clavate rough outer ends and show a widening in the middle. Dermalia are hexactins with rounded, smooth, rarely rough, outer ends and rays 0.005 –0.009 mm in diameter. Atrialia are pentactins with rays similar to those of the dermal spicules.

Microscleres are discohexactins, oxyhexactins (usually spiny) and some discohexasters. Some discohexactins show abnormal rays with tyloidal or onychoidal outer ends. Discohexasters have very short principalia.

Remarks. The genus Corbitella comprises 4 species. The investigated fragments are very similar to C. elegans (Marshall, 1875) except for the dimensions of discohexactins (diameter of discohexactins in the holotype 0.22–0.264 mm) as reported by Ijima (1903) in his re­description of this species. The diameter of these spicules is more similar to that of C. speciosa (Quoy and Gaimard, 1833) ; diameter of discohexasters and rare discohexactins in this species is 0.1–0.145 mm ( Ijima 1903). Unfortunately both species are known from single representatives, which contain only a few loose spicules; both species were found off the Molucca. It is very likely that C. speciosa and C. elegans are complete synonyms, but it is also possible that the Australian specimens described here should be regarded as a new subspecies of C. elegans . In any case the settlement of this question requires analysis of additional material of these two species.

Regadrella Schmidt, 1880

Regadrella okinoseana Ijima, 1896 ( Tab. 28)

Material. NTM Z 0002581 View Materials (three specimens)—sta. NWS­0043, off Rowley Shoals, Northwest Shelf, 17 o 18’S 119 o 4’E, 426 m. GoogleMaps

Description. Body: This species is represented by three fragments; they probably belong to three different specimens. These sponges are at least 250 mm long with walls about 5 mm in thickness. One sponge contains several dense spherical aggregations 4–12 mm in diameter composed of sponge tissue with spicules. Inside each such sphere a specimen of Solenogastres Genus sp. (Mollusca) was found.

Spicules: The spicules of these Australian specimens do not differ in shape from other specimens of R. okinoseana . Occasionally it is possible to find among the dermal hexactins some diactins with rays very similar to those of the hexactins; the length of these diactins corresponds to axial length of the hexactins.

Remarks. R. okinoseana is widely distributed in the Indo­West Pacific; the last revision was done by Tabachnick and Lévi (2004), and the Australian specimens have very similar spicule dimensions to those of both well­investigated locations (off Japan and off New Caledonia). The only notable differences are the dimensions of dermal pentactins: the distal rays of the ‘Australian’ specimens are longer than those from off Japan and shorter than those from off New Caledonia; and the other rays of dermal hexactins are smaller in the sponges from off Australia. The microscleres are very similar in their shape and dimensions. Unlike the specimens of R. okinoseana described from the Great Australian Bight (off South Australia) ( Reiswig 1992), the investigated specimens have very few oxypentasters and no oxyhexasters at all; the rays of dermal hexactins correspond to the smallest ones of those described from off South Australia.

Rossellidae Schulze, 1885

Rossellinae Schulze, 1885

Scyphidium Schulze, 1900 View in CoL

WAM

Western Australian Museum

RV

Collection of Leptospira Strains

MNHN

Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle

NTM

Northern Territory Museum of Arts and Sciences

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Porifera

Class

Hexactinellida

Order

Lyssacinosida

Family

Euplectellidae

Genus

Corbitella

Loc

Corbitella cf. elegans (Marshall, 1875)

Tabachnick, Konstantin R. & Menschenina, Dorte Janussen And Larisa L. 2008
2008
Loc

Scyphidium

Schulze 1900
1900
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