Clathrina chrysea, BOROJEVIC & KLAUTAU, 2000

Klautau, Michelle & Valentine, Clare, 2003, Revision of the genus Clathrina (Porifera, Calcarea), Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 139 (1), pp. 1-62 : 16-17

CLATHRINA CHRYSEA BOROJEVIC & KLAUTAU, 2000

Type locality: Canal Woodin , New Caledonia .

Type: MNHN-LBIM-C-1999–01 (holotype /alcohol). South coast, Canal Woodin, New Caledonia (28 m depth). R-1360 .

Colour: Cormus of holotype bright yellow, white when preserved in alcohol.

Description: Cormus formed of thin, regularly anastomosed tubes. There are no water-collecting tubes. The skeleton of the tubes has no special organization, comprising a thin meshwork of equiangular and equiradiate triactines ( Fig. 11A ). Actines are straight and conical, with a sharp distal tip. They are slightly undulated at the tip.

Biochemical studies separated C. clathrus from another yellow clathrina we earlier named C. aurea ( Solé-Cava et al., 1991) , suggesting that C. clathrus is not widespread. Based on this result, Borojevic & Klautau (2000) recognized the specimen from New Caledonia as a new species. The main difference between this and other yellow clathrinas relates to the tip of the actines of the triactines, which is sharp in C. chrysea and rounded in C. clathrus and C. aurea . The yellow colour of the cormus and the skeleton composed only of triactines with cylindrical and undulated actines suggest that these clathrinas constitute a group of closely related species.

Breitfuss (1897) reported a yellow clathrina he called C. clathrus in the Indo-Pacific region ( Ternate). Borojevic & Klautau (2000) commented that he was probably referring to C. chrysea .

In the original description of C. chrysea , the micrometry of the triactines was 105 Mm (±9 Mm)/10 Mm (±1 Mm).

Figures

Figure 11. Clathrina chrysea. Triactines. Scale bar = 100 Mm.