Aplysina lacunosa (Lamarck, 1814)

Pinheiro, Ulisses Dos S., Hajdu, Eduardo & Custódio, Márcio R., 2007, Aplysina Nardo (Porifera, Verongida, Aplysinidae) from the Brazilian coast with description of eight new species, Zootaxa 1609, pp. 1-51 : 25-27

Aplysina lacunosa (Lamarck, 1814) ( Figs. 11 B–12, Tab. VI)

Aplysina lacunosa, Hechtel (1983: 59) , Muricy et al. (2006: 118); Verongia sp.a. sensu Hechtel (1976: 239). For further synonymy cf. van Soest (1978: 61).

Lectotype: MNHN unregistered (designated by Topsent, 1932: 70, Pl. I, Fig. 5 ; cf. Wiedenmayer, 1977: 67)

Studied material: Ceará - MNRJ 3046 (Canoa Quebrada). M. Guimarães coll, 25 m depth, II/2000. Bahia - MNRJ 3387, Bank Rodger, G. Nunan coll., 40–50 m depth, 6/VI/1999. MNRJ 3402, Bank Rodger, G. Nunan coll., 40–50 m depth, 6/VI/1999. MNRJ 3524 (Reserva Extrativista de Corumbau, Prado, 16º56`29`` S - 39º00`24`` W), B. Segal and C.B. Castro coll., 18/XI/1999. MNRJ 3557 (Reserva Extrativista de Corumbau, Prado) G. Muricy coll., 2 m depth, III/99. MNRJ 4436 (Programme REVIZEE Central V, Porto Seguro, 17º06'18'' S - 36º44'74'' W), 50 m depth, 07/VII/2001. MNRJ 4652 (Programme REVIZEE Central V), 29/VI/ 2001. Espírito Santo - MNRJ 4429 (20º30'37.32'' S 37º19'05.39'' W), 89 m depth, 24/IV/1996. MNRJ 4587 (Programme REVIZEE Central V., 19º48'47'' S - 037º56'33'' W), 60 m depth, 18/VII/2001.

Diagnosis: Tubular sponge with a large apical pseudoscule, surface with irregular grooves (caliciform, meandriform) of variable depth.

FIGURE 12: A–D. Aplysina lacunosa (Pallas, 1766) . A–B. MNRJ 3387 (after preservation). C. Skeletal architecture (MNRJ 3046). D. Spongin fibres (MNRJ 3387). Scale bars = A–B. 1 cm, C. 500 µm, D. 50 µm. [The submitted file is of 72 dpi. Please resubmit a 300dpi file].

Description

The sponge consists of a single tube or clusters of up to 19 tubes, with a maximum length of 18.5 by 4.5 cm in diameter, and a large apical pseudoscule with 2.5 cm in diameter. The surface is characterized by irregular grooves (caliciform or meandriform) of variable depth. Specimens are finely conulose, small digitiform processes (ca. 0.5 cm in diameter) being observed in some specimens, projecting themselves from the rim of the pseudoscule. The colour is bright yellow in vivo, turning beige, purple or dark brown after preservation in alcohol. Consistency varies from hard to soft.

Skeleton: Choanosome with a delicate and irregular network of spongin fibers with amber colour and thickness of 7–196 Μm (average 89 Μm). They have rather irregular (eccentric) black pith with thickness 7–37 Μm (average 16 Μm).

Distribution: Tropical western Atlantic, Brazil (3–20ºS): Ceará State, Bahia State, Reserva Extrativista de Corumbau, Espírito Santo State. World: Bahamas, Florida, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Colombia, Bonaire, Curaçao.

Ecology: The specimens were collected in warm and clear waters, 3–89 m deep.

Remarks: Wiedenmayer (1977) commented that the fine pith was the character that differentiated A. lacunosa from its congeners. However, corroborating van Soest (1978), in this work we observed fibers in A.

fistularis (MNRJ 5471) and A. fulva (MNRJ 5479) with fine pith and thick bark, and some specimens of A. lacunosa with thick pith and reduced bark (e.g. MNRJ 3387). These facts lead us to believe that the best diagnostic character for the species is the external morphology (surface with irregular, caliciform or meandriform grooves of variable depth), since this is not observed in any other species of the genus. van Soest (1978) and Zea (1987) raised the possibility that material identified as A. lacunosa from the Caribbean could comprise two species. Following this, Schmitt et al. (2005) differentiated a hard morphotype with reticulate skeleton of typically thinly pithed spongin fibers, and a soft morphotype with a more dendritic skeleton of heavily pithed fibers, reminiscent of the genus Suberea of the verongid family Aplysinellidae . The Brazilian material appears to us to belong to a single species, and having a typical reticulate skeleton, it conforms to the hard form of these authors.

TABLE VI: Spongin fibres’ measurement data for Aplysina lacunosa (Lamarck, 1814) (in micrometers; S.D. = Standard Deviation and N=30).

Figures

FIGURE 5: A – C. Aplysina fistularis (Pallas, 1766) — in situ. A. MNRJ 4172 (Salvador, BA, Brazil). B. MNRJ 2666 (Salvador, BA, Brazil). C. Parque Nacional Marinho dos Abrolhos (BA, Brazil). Scale bar = A – B, 1 cm; C, 2 cm.

FIGURE 11: Map showing the distribution of Aplysina along the Brazilian coastline. A. Aplysina insularis (Duchassaing & Michelotti, 1864) B. Aplysina lacunosa (Pallas, 1766). C. Aplysina pergamentacea Hechtel, 1983. D. Aplysina alcicornis sp. n.. Scale bar = 500 km.