Penares deformis, Sim-Smith & Kelly, 2019

Sim-Smith, Carina & Kelly, Michelle, 2019, Review of the sponge genus Penares (Demospongiae, Tetractinellida, Astrophorina) in the New Zealand EEZ, with descriptions of new species, Zootaxa 4638 (1), pp. 1-56 : 31-32

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.11646/zootaxa.4638.1.1
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:E5A26EB4-1F98-4310-A8D7-A0F933E75D95
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03CB87E6-FF82-F95E-FF7B-FAE7FEF6F80F
treatment provided by	Plazi
scientific name	Penares deformis
status	sp. nov.

Treatment

Penares deformis sp. nov.

( Fig. 24 View FIGURE 24 –26 View FIGURE 24 View FIGURE 25 View FIGURE 26 ; Table 8)

Material examined. Holotype — NIWA 52648 View Materials , NIWA Stn TAN0803/33, Macquarie Ridge, 50.091° S, 163.482° E, 1077–1408 m, 1 Apr 2008. GoogleMaps

Type locality. Macquarie Ridge , New Zealand .

Distribution. Only known from type locality, Macquarie Ridge, New Zealand; 1077–1408 m ( Figure 26 View FIGURE 26 ).

Description. Morphology of the holotype is a small, thinly encrusting sponge growing around the dead branches of a coral ( Figure 24A View FIGURE 24 ); 30 mm long × 25 mm wide × 12 mm high. Texture is firm, slightly compressible. Surface is hispid and scratchy to the touch. Singular, uniporal openings, around 1.3 mm in diameter are very sparsely scattered over the surface of the sponge ( Figure 24B View FIGURE 24 ). Colour in ethanol is medium brown, interior is slightly darker.

Skeleton. Cortical skeleton is distinct from the choanosome and consists of a densely packed layer of disorganised microxeas. Triaenes are arranged with their cladome at the surface of the sponge ( Figure 24C & D View FIGURE 24 ). Choanosomal skeleton is extremely densely packed with oxyasters. Oxeas are scattered through the choanosome with no distinct arrangement ( Figure 24E View FIGURE 24 ).

Spicules ( Figure 25 View FIGURE 25 ; Table 8). Megascleres —stronglyoxeas ( Figure 25A & B View FIGURE 25 ) are small and relatively slender; 1094 (656–1498) × 29 (21–40) µm (n = 20). Very short-shafted triaenes are a mixture of dichotriaenes ( Figure 25C View FIGURE 25 ), plagiotriaenes ( Figure 25D View FIGURE 25 ), triaenes with both single and bifurcate clads ( Figure 25E View FIGURE 25 ), and deformed triaenes ( Figure 25F View FIGURE 25 ). Triaenes have a cladome that is much wider than the rhabdome length; 332 (177–453) µm long × 691 (139–995) µm wide (n = 22).

Microscleres —microxeas ( Figure 25H View FIGURE 25 ) are slightly curved with sharply pointed tips; 128 (92–144) × 8 (7–10) µm (n = 20). Microrhabds ( Figure 25I View FIGURE 25 ) are slightly curved with broadly rounded tips, and usually slightly centro- tylote. Microrhabds are typically shorter than microxeas but there is some size overlap; 62 (32–108) × 7 (5–9) µm (n = 20). Oxyasters ( Figure 25G View FIGURE 25 ) are large with a varying number of rays that are faintly acanthose, ranging from plesiasters with few rays to oxyasters. Rays appear to be smooth under light microscopy (400×); 40 (22–78) µm in diameter (n = 20).