Ircinia strobilina ( Lamarck, 1816 )

Sandes, Joana & Pinheiro, Ulisses, 2014, Dictyoceratida (Porifera: Demospongiae) from Tropical Southwestern Atlantic (Northeastern Brazil, Sergipe State) and the description of three new species, Zootaxa 3838 (4), pp. 445-461 : 453-454

Ircinia strobilina ( Lamarck, 1816)

(Fig. 1–3; Fig. 4 )

Spongia strobilina Lamarck, 1816: 363 .

Ircinia strobilina, Hajdu et al. 2011: 210 ; Moraes 2011: 192. For additional synonymy see Muricy et al. (2011)

Specimens examined. UFSPOR29, off Pirambu (10º49’47’’S 36º32’10’’W), Sergipe State, Brazil, 30 m depth, coll. Cosme Assis and Damião Assis, May 2002; UFSPOR87, UFSPOR88, off Pirambu (10º49’47’’S 36º32’10’’W), Sergipe State, Brazil, 30 m depth, coll. Cosme Assis and Damião Assis, July 2002; UFSPOR85, off Pirambu (10º49’47’’S 36º32’10’’W), Sergipe State, Brazil, 20 m depth, coll. Cosme Assis and Damião Assis, July 2002; UFSPOR30, UFSPOR130, off Pirambu (10º49’47’’S 36º32’10’’W), Sergipe State, Brazil, 20 m depth, coll. Cosme Assis and Damião Assis, July 2003; UFSPOR31, UFSPOR86, UFSPOR153, off Aracaju (11º03’14.71’’S 36º54’52.36’’W), Sergipe State, Brazil, 30 m depth, leg. Petrobras, July 2002; UFSPOR78, UFSPOR127, off Aracaju (11º03’14.71’’S 36º54’52.36’’W), Sergipe State, Brazil, 30 m depth, leg. Petrobras, July 2003; UFSPOR83, UFSPOR151, off Estância (11º21’15.14’’S 37º06’1.4’’W), Sergipe State, Brazil, 30 m depth, leg. Petrobras, December 2002 and July 2002, respectively (Fig. 1–3).

External morphology ( Fig. 4 A–B). Massive, lobed or globular sponge. The largest specimen is 10.5 x 8 cm (length x width). Conulose surface, with conules up to 5 mm high. The oscules are 1–5 mm in diameter and are grouped on the surface. The consistency is elastic and difficult to cut. Yellowish beige a light brown color in ethanol.

Skeleton ( Fig. 4 C–D). The skeleton consists of a loose network of fasciculated spongin fibers, cored with foreign spicules and debris. Fibers width: 10–110 µm ( Fig. 4 C). Collagenous filaments are 2.5–5 µm in diameter, occur in high density and have an oval expanded end ( Fig. 4 D).

Ecology. The specimens were found 20–30 m deep and some of them were observed attached to coralline algae.

Geographical distribution. Tropical Northwestern Atlantic: Florida, Bahamas, Belize, Bonaire, Curacao, Porto Rico, Guiana, Jamaica, Cuba, Colombia, Panama, Bermuda and Venezuela. On the Brazilian coast: Amapá, Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Alagoas, Bahia, Espírito Santo ( Muricy et al. 2011) and Sergipe States (present study).

Remarks. The specimens examined show similarity to other characterizations of Ircinia strobilina from the Caribbean ( Wiedenmayer 1977, van Soest 1978, Zea 1987) and Brazil ( Muricy et al. 2008, Hajdu et al. 2011, Moraes 2011), such as the shape, size and distance between conules and grouping and characteristics of oscules. However, they differed in some points. The specimens examined here are yellowish beige to light brown in ethanol, while the characteristic colour of I. strobilina was gray or dark brown. Moreover, the fibers of the specimens examined here were thinner (up to 110 µm thick) when compared to the Caribbean and Brazilian material previously described [up to 1000 µm wide, according to van Soest (1978)]. However, the specimens from Brazilian oceanic islands showed fibers up to 130 µm wide (Moraes 2011), which is similar to the specimens examined here. Nevertheless, these differences are considered here to be no more than intraspecific variation.

Figures

FIGURE 4. Ircinia strobilina (Lamarck, 1816). (A – B) Specimens examined; (C) Reticulated skeleton of isolated spongin fibers; (D) Collagenous filaments. Scale bars: A – B, 1 cm; C, 205 µm; D, 82 µm.