Skolosachlys enlutea Ekins, Erpenbeck & Hooper, 2023

Ekins, Merrick, Erpenbeck, Dirk, Debitus, Cécile, Petek, Sylvain, Mai, Tepoerau, Wörheide, Gert & Hooper, John N. A., 2023, Revision of the genus Fascaplysinopsis, the type species Fascaplysinopsis reticulata (Hentschel, 1912) (Porifera, Dictyoceratida, Thorectidae) and descriptions of two new genera and seven new species, Zootaxa 5346 (3), pp. 201-241 : 220-223

Skolosachlys enlutea Ekins, Erpenbeck & Hooper sp. nov.

Figures 10–11

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:63CA092F-134F-41AF-AD53-EEC8BA8F3FFA

Fascaplysinopsis reticulata : in part Bergquist 1980, Figs 3 A , 16 A–B ; in part

Bergquist 1995, P1. 9, Fig. 9 ; Cook & Bergquist 2002: Fig. 5. C–D ; Hooper 2019, Fig. 19.5 E

Not Aplysinopsis reticulata: Hentschel, 1912: 437–439 , Pl. XV(1), XVI (9)

Part: Fascaplysinopsis reticulata: Erpenbeck et al. (2020) Suppl. data

Not Fascaplysinopsis cf. reticulata: Mai et al. 2019

Material examined.

Holotype QM G322803, MacGillray’s Reef, Lizard Island , Queensland, Australia, 14.6477°S, 145.4882°E, 12.6m, reef, SCUBA, Coll. M. Ekins, 19/II/2006.

Paratypes: QM G322804, MacGillray’s Reef, Lizard Island, Queensland, Australia, 14.6477 ° S, 145.4882°E, 12.6 m, reef, SCUBA, Coll. M. Ekins, 19/II/2006; QM G322864, West Palfrey island, Lizard Island, Queensland, Australia, 14.6885°S, 145.4425°E, 8 m, SCUBA, Coll. M. Ekins, 25/II/2006; QM G322865, West Palfrey Island, Lizard Island, Queensland, Australia, 14.6885°S, 145.4425°E, 8 m, SCUBA, Coll. M. Ekins, 25/II/2006; QM G309895, Lizard Island, bommie 200m West of Palfrey Island, Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, Australia, 14.69°S, 145.4433°E, 9 m, wall/cliff coral, SCUBA, Coll. Australian Institute of Marine Science & National Cancer Institute, Q66B2033-W, 18/IV/1987.

Other material. QM G304147, Blue lagoon, Lizard Island, between Palfrey and South Islands, Queensland, Australia, 14.6844°S, 145.45°E, 9 m, patch reef, sand base, SCUBA, Coll. J.N.A. Hooper, L.J. Hobbs, J. Kennedy, & S.D. Cook, 3/IV/1994; QM G307166, Wistari Reef, Wistari Channel, Heron Island, Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, Australia, 23.451389°S, 151.90194°E, 25 m, coral reef slope, sand base, SCUBA, Coll. J.N.A. Hooper, S.D. Cook, J.A. Kennedy, & P.A. Tomkins, 6/VIII/1996; QM G307532, Polmaise Reef, Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, Australia, 23.55083°S, 151.6525°E, 12 m, fringing coral reef, back reef slope, SCUBA, Coll. J.N.A. Hooper, S.D. Cook, J.A. Kennedy, & P.A. Tomkins, 12/VIII/1996; QM G319124, Irene Reef, Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, Australia, 15.63580°S, 145.70990°E, 16 m, bommies to south of reef, SCUBA, Coll. J.N.A. Hooper, S.D. Cook, G. Wörheide, M. Schlacher & D. Edson, 25/XI/2001; QM G320761, Houghton Reef, Howick Group, Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, Australia, 14.519834°S, 144.98152°E, 20 m, channel between islands, muddy sand, bommies, fringing reef off mangroves, very silty, sponge city, SCUBA, Coll. J.N.A. Hooper, S.D. Cook, M. Schlacher, M. Richer de Forges, A. Crowther & C. Bartlett, 3/VII/2003; QM G322749, Lizard island, Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, Australia, 14.74667°S, 145.46666°E, 10 m, SCUBA, Coll. Australian Institute of Marine Science & National Cancer Institute, Q66C6219Z, 5/II/1993; QM G309885, Lizard Island Lagoon, Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, Australia, 14.69°S, 145.46567°E, 10 m, flat sand, Coll. Australian Institute of Marine Science & National Cancer Institute, Q66B2006-S, 17/IV/1987; QM G315234, Hook Reef lagoon, Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, Australia, 19.75382°S, 149.17921°E, 9.4 m, coral reef lagoon, SCUBA, Coll. S.D. Cook, J.A. Kennedy, C.L. Adams, G. Wörheide, & D. Edson, 5/ VI /1999; QM G318353, Pompey Reefs, small unnamed reef, Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, Australia, 21.12400°S, 151.13066°E, 27 m, sloping reef with outcrops, SCUBA, Coll. S.D. Cook, J.A. Kennedy, G. Wörheide, & W. Delaney, 17/III/2000; QM G319513, NE of Gladstone, Queensland, Australia, 23.53317°S, 151.39217°E, 28 m, Trawl, Scallop Survey, Coll. Queensland Department of Primary Industries Fisheries, Deception Bay on FV Seadar Bay, 25/X/2001 – 26/X/2001; QM G329143 (= QM G332299), Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, Australia, 15.335°S, 145.485°E, 33.6 m, epibenthic sled, Coll. CSIRO, Sea Bed Diversity Project on RV Gwendoline May, SBD510288, 20/XI/2003; QM G329260 (= QM G331185), Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, Australia, 19.305°S, 149.345°E, 68.3 m, epibenthic sled, Coll. CSIRO, Sea Bed Diversity Project on RV Gwendoline May, Site 1525, Sample 026891, SBD533956, 8/XII/2005. QM G329599, Aore Island, Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu, 15.53138°S, 167.19372°E, 16 m, steep sand slope, bommies, abundant sponges, patch reef at top, SCUBA, Coll. J.N.A. Hooper, UUVAN082027, 29/X/2008; QM G330241, Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, Australia, 23.245°S, 151.005°E, 22 m, epibenthic sled, Coll. CSIRO, Great Barrier Reef Seabed Biodiversity Project on RV Gwendoline May, Site 2670, Sample 009216, SBD516953, 25/IV/2004; QM G321047, Torres Strait, Queensland, Australia, 10.42°S, 142.36°E, 13.9 m, Trawl, Coll. CSIRO, TS80000757, 19/I/2004; QM G304259, Palfrey Island, western side, Lizard Island, Queensland, Australia, 14.70055556°S, 145.4347222°E, 16 m, fringing coral reef, sand and isolated bommies, SCUBA, Coll. J.N.A. Hooper, S.D. Cook, J.A. Kennedy, L.J. Hobbs, JH-94-010, 6/IV/1994; SDCC RF 017, North of Cape Bedford, precise location unknown, Queensland, Australia, Coll. P. Bergquist (as per p. 1040 in Cook & Bergquist 2002).

Etymology. en G. within, lutea L. yellow.

Distribution. This species is distributed from Queensland, Australia to Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu ( Fig. 10 ).

Description:

Growth form: The sponge is massive, plate to fan shaped, sometimes smaller sponges are subspherical ( Figs. 11 A–C ). Usually with epibionts growing over the three-dimensional surface. The holotype in the collection is 11 cm long, by 6 cm high and 4 cm wide, but was approximately 15 cm wide.

Colour: Black, grey, rarely dark brown sometimes olive to green due to epibionts, often covered with sand or detritus, yellow beige interior, with red fibres ( Fig. 11 E ). In 70% ethanol, it tints ethanol dark red/black colour, whilst the exterior colour becomes a dark brown and the internal colour can change from yellow to dark brown also.

Oscules: The oscules are located in the centre of the plate and can occupy the entire width between the conules, which are usually 5–10 mm. The ostia are also punctuated in the centre of the valleys and these are only 1–2 mm in diameter.

Texture: Harsh, very compressible, firm and tough, but can be torn with difficulty.

Surface: Very large blunt and angular conules and ridges giving the sponge a very harsh exterior. The conules are 5–10 mm high, with a truncated finish as several fibres which have joined together in bundles terminate close together but still separated by up to a millimetre, giving a crown like appearance to form a truncated conule. The conules are connected to usually four sometimes five other conules with long curvaceous ridges that rise high above the valleys between them.Here the valleys have a striated appearance due to the sand particles arranged in a striped pattern resulting in partial armouring (see Fig. 11 D ). The valleys are 7–12 mm wide, which is the same diameter as the aquiferous channels, which extend all the way through the sponge interior giving the sponge a cavernous interior. The fasciculate bundles of fibres form the scaffolding of the aquiferous channels and the thick collagen provides the walls of the channels.

Ectosomal skeleton: The sponge has striated armour in a striped pattern ( Fig. 11 D ), whilst the pores are clear of armour. It is possible the sponge incorporates the sand and spicules for inclusion in the fibres it often has large amounts of sand and spicules in the ectosomal layer. In addition the sponge has partial armouring because of the large amount of detritus and epibionts growing on the sponge, which become a de facto armour. Fibres extend from choanosome to ectosomal surface producing conules.

Choanosomal skeleton: The primary fibres are laminated and cored by detritus and a definite core in the centre third of the fibre ( Fig. 11 F ). The primary fibres are usually between 200 and 300 µm in thickness. The primary fibres are fasciculated, forming bundles and have many crosslinking secondary fibres often forming ladder-like structures as they ascend to the surface ( Fig. 11 G ). The secondary fibres are also laminated and are much less cored, also limited to the central third of the fibre. The secondary fibres range from 50 to 250 µm.

Ecology. This species is associated with reefs, ranging from fringing reefs to lagoons and channels. It has been recovered from 9 to 68 m in depth. It is often covered with encrusting ascidians such as didemnids, sponges, algae and sandy silt.

DNA Barcodes.

28S: QM G304147 (OX458939), SDCC RF 017 (LR699489).

ITS: Holotype QM G322803 (LR699338), SDCC RF 017 (LR699339).

Remarks. This species is often overgrown by epibionts especially algae and covered in detritus such as sand, which the sponge incorporates as a sparse and very light armour. Instead, this sponge relies on the very heavy harsh fibres as protection. Unfortunately, Bergquist (1980) also combined this new species from northern Australia with specimens from New Caledonia (as Fascaplysinopsis reticulata ( Hentschel, 1912)) , with the latter described here as another new genus and species, Rubrafasciculus cerasus sp. nov., confusing the concept of Fascaplysinopsis reticulata confined to the type material from the type locality of Aru Islands, Arafura Sea, and abandoning the broader concept of the genus Fascaplysinsopsis (sensu Bergquist 1980, Cook & Bergquist 2002). Further confusing the diagnoses of these three species and genera, is that they most likely share a family of chemical compounds, the ‘aplysinopsins’. These misidentifications mean that chemotaxonomic markers must be treated with caution (see Erpenbeck & Van Soest 2007, Galitz et al. 2021).

Figures

FIGURE 3. Distribution of Fascaplysinopsis reticulata, Fascaplysinopsis palauensis sp. nov., Fascaplysinopsis klobos sp. nov. and Fascaplysinopsis ronquinni sp. nov. Base map modified from freevectormaps.com.

FIGURE 5. Fascaplysinopsis reticulata (Hentschel, 1912) Yellow form. A. QM G325372 on deck immediately after trawling, showing colouration and epibionts. B. QM G325372 immediately after thawing. C. QM G325372 close up of B showing the large conules and the membranous collagen with a plastic like appearance between them. D. QM G325372 fixed showing the sharp conules and membranous valleys. E. Digested tissue of QM G325372, showing the large primary fibres arising in parallel and the secondary fibres bridging the large spaces. F. Digested tissue of QM G325372, showing the coring in the primary fibres and uncored secondary fibres. G. QM G325372 fine tertiary fibres between the secondary fibres. H. Microscope transverse section of QM G325372 showing cored primary fibres, some secondary fibres showing pith and the tertiary fibres (arrow) in the collagenous matrix. I. Microscope transverse section of QM G325372 showing fasciculating primary fibres connected by secondary fibres. J. Microscope cross section of QM G325444 through the primary fibres, showing secondary and tertiary fibres.

FIGURE 9. Fascaplysinopsis ronquinni sp. nov. A. Holotype QM G339083 on deck immediately after collection, and B. fixed. C. Surface of the holotype showing the primary fibres emerging through the ectosome. D. Primary fibres cored with bryozoan and isopod scales. E. Heavily laminated primary, secondary and tertiary fibres. F. Laminated fibres showing the pigmentation.

FIGURE 10. Distribution of Skolosachlys enlutea sp. nov. and Skolosachlys nidus sp. nov. Base map modified from freevectormaps.com.

FIGURE 11. Skolosachlys enlutea sp. nov. A. Paratype QM G322864 underwater. B. Paratype QM G322804 underwater. C. Holotype QM G322803 underwater. D. Close up of the fixed holotype surface showing the striated armouring of the conulose valleys. E. Cross section of the holotype QM G322803, immediately after collection showing the cavernous interior, the thick yellow collagen and the red fibres forming the structure of the aquiferous channels and conules. F. Magnified primary and secondary fibres showing the laminations, coring and junctions. G. Dissolved tissue leaving the one of the bundles (fascicles) of primary fibres, with the secondary fibres forming the ladders. There are also two additional secondary fibre at right angles to the bundles that were previously joined onto another bundle of primary fibres, ascending towards the surface. H. Prepared section at right angles to the primary fibres showing the coring of the secondary fibres and some armouring.

FIGURE 16. Rubrafasciculus cf. cerasus sp. nov. A. QM G306488 underwater.B. CASIZ 300177 underwater.C. QM G306488 preserved, exterior surface and interior surface. D. QM G306488 surface, showing the transparent membrane and the thick sand armouring of the ectosome and the collagenous choanosome. E. QM G306488 Cored primary fibres and the uncored secondary and tertiary fibres of the holotype. F. QM G306488 Magnified section showing the thick cored primary fibres and the uncored secondary and tertiary fibres of the holotype.