Raspailia (Raspailia) johnhooperi, Van, Rob W. M., 2017

Van, Rob W. M., 2017, Sponges of the Guyana Shelf, Zootaxa 1, pp. 1-225 : 61-62

Raspailia (Raspailia) johnhooperi sp. nov.

Figures 39 a–g

Material examined. Holotype RMNH Por. 9809, Suriname, ‘Luymes’ Guyana Shelf Expedition, station 5, 6.6°N 53.55°W, depth 44 m, trawl, bottom calcareous sand, 24 August 1970 .

Paratype RMNH. Por. 9313, (juvenile? specimen), Suriname, ‘O.C.P.S. Luymes’ Guyana Shelf Expedition, station N79, 6.2217°N 55.917°W, depth 27 m, Van Veen grab, on dead oyster, 9 April 1969 .

Description. Arborescent-palmate sponge ( Fig. 39 a), with conulose-spined surface, shiny smooth between conules. Size 13.5 x 10 cm. Color in alcohol beige. Branches flattened, ending pointedly, outline irregular. Short, double stalk (presumably the single palmate upper part is the result of two anastomosed individuals) of 3 cm long and 1.5 cm diameter, with more or less smooth surface. Consistency fleshy, compressible. A second smaller (juvenile?) specimen ( Fig. 39 a1) was detected growing on a dead oyster. This is a stalkless five-branched individual, branches 8–10 mm long, 3 mm in diameter, with strongly hispid surface, looking rather different from the above described large specimen but with same structure and spiculation.

Skeleton. Typically raspailiid, with condensed axial reticulation of strongyles and extra-axial long styles surrounded by bouquets of thin styles ( Fig. 39 b). Echinating acanthostyles are sparingly present in the axial skeleton.

Spicules. ( Figs 39 c–g) Long styles, strongyles, thin styles, acanthostyles.

Long styles ( Figs 39 c,c1), smooth, curved, often broken in the slides (n=5), 2100–3400 x 24–33 µm.

Strongyles ( Figs 39 d,d1), smooth, curved, usually equidiametrical, but occasionally slightly anisodiametrical ( Figs 39 e,e1), in a large size range, but not readily divisible in size categories, 384– 609 –960 x 13 – 16.9 –21 µm.

Thin styles ( Figs 39 f,f1) of the ectosomal bouquets, curved, often ending bluntly, in a large size range, but not divisible in size categories, 348– 667 – 1210 x 2 – 5.5 –14 µm.

Acanthostyles ( Fig. 39 g), with few, but large spines, 93– 127 –156 x 4.5– 9.1 –12 µm

Distribution and ecology. Guyana Shelf, sandy bottom at 27– 44 m.

Etymology. Named after Professor John N.A. Hooper, Queensland Museum, Australia, to acknowledge his expert monographic studies on Raspailiidae , and his admirable efforts for sponge taxonomy in general.

Remarks. The Central Western Atlantic so far is poor in Raspailia records ( Van Soest et al. 2016). Of the subgenus Raspailia only three species have been reported, R. (R.) acanthifera ( George & Wilson, 1919) (originally Axinella acanthifera ) from Beaufort, North Carolina, R. (R.) muricyana Moraes, 2011 from Fernando do Noronha, and R. (R.) tenuis Ridley & Dendy, 1886 from NE Brazil (and also tentatively reported from Barbados by Van Soest & Stentoft 1988). None of these sponges have the erect palmate habitus with conulose-spiny surface of our new species and none of them have strongyles as main spicules of the axial skeleton; shape of the body is squatlylaminate ( acanthifera and muricyana ) or consist of stringy thin branches ( tenuis ) and all have styles instead of strongyles in the axial skeleton. Like R. (R.) tenuis , the new species has rare acanthostyles, whereas the other two have them more common.

Strongylote spicules as axial spiculation are uncommon, but are occasionally reported in Raspailia species, e.g. in the Australian Raspailia (Raspailia) vestigifera Dendy, 1896 (cf. Hooper 1991).

Figures

FIGURE 39. Raspailia (Raspailia) johnhooperi sp. nov., a, habitus of holotype RMNH Por. 9809 (scale bar = 1 cm), a 1, habitus of paratype RMNH Por. 9313 (scale bar = 1 cm), b, light microscopic image of ectosomal long tylostyle surrounded by thin styles, c – g, SEM images of spicules, c, long ectosomal style, c 1 details of c, d – e, choanosomal strongyles, d 1, details of apices of symmetrical strongyle, e 1, details of apices of slightly asymmetrical strongyle, f, thin style, f 1, details of f, g, acanthostyle.