Tectitethya macrostella Sarà & Bavestrello, 1996
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publication ID |
https://doi.org/ 10.11646/zootaxa.5031.1.1 |
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publication LSID |
lsid:zoobank.org:pub:CC3A59D1-E09E-407E-93F4-4796FD3D7C19 |
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DOI |
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5495497 |
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persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/110587B3-4D4E-4857-FF53-FDF5497234EC |
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treatment provided by |
Plazi |
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scientific name |
Tectitethya macrostella Sarà & Bavestrello, 1996 |
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Tectitethya macrostella Sarà & Bavestrello, 1996 View in CoL
Tables 6, 7; Figs. 64A–E View FIGURE 64 , 70H View FIGURE 70
Synonymy and references: Tectitethya macrostella Sarà & Bavestrello (1996: 286) , and Rützler et al. (2009: 297).
Type locality. Florida .
Material examined. CNPGG-2277, Triangulos Este reef (20.9177°N, 92.2162°W), 17 m depth, coll. Oscar Bocardo, 11 September 2017.
Description. Massive habit ( Fig. 70H View FIGURE 70 ); the overall size is 6 × 2 × 1 cm. The surface is irregular, although entirely covered by algae and sand. Foreign detritus is also scattered inside the body. Oscules in the top of the sponge. Black color in vivo and also in ethanol. The consistency is firm but slightly compressible.
Skeleton. Ascending tracts or bundles of spicules are radially arranged, incorporating foreign detritus ( Fig. 64A View FIGURE 64 ).
Spicules. Megascleres. Straight anisostrongyles to strongyles ( Figs. 64B–C View FIGURE 64 ), 650– 1084 (284.9)–1430/6– 15.4 (7.1)–27 µm, almost all the anisostrongyles were broken. Microscleres. Megasters ( Figs. 64D–E View FIGURE 64 ) –oxyspherasters— with regular size 30– 43 (10)–60 µm, the number and shape of rays is variable, bent, or straight. Micrasters ( Figs. 64D–E View FIGURE 64 )—tylasters to strongylasters– 8– 11 (3.2)–20 µm, with variable number of rays.
Distribution. Mexico (current records), US (Florida) ( Sarà & Bavestrello 1996).
Remarks. Our specimen conforms closely to the original description of Sarà & Bavestrello (1996). The main difference is the megaster oxyspheraster size range 20–65.3–100 µm (diameter) spanning further than observed in our specimen. Other characteristics of T. macrostella that distinguish it from its congeners are the maximum thickness attained by the diameter of its megascleres (mean 38.4 µm), and the largest diameter of the micrasters (mean 15 µm), which correspond to what we have observed in the material presently studied.
Tectitethya macrostella was originally recorded in west Florida ( Sarà & Bavestrello 1996) and has not been found elsewhere. Thus, this record shows a geographic extension of T. macrostella for the SGoM, and the first record of the species after its original description. The absence of records of Tectitethya macrostella within the numerous works around the Greater Caribbean (e.g. Hajdu et al. 2011; Rützler et al. 2014; van Soest 2017) most likely suggests that the species could be endemic to the GoM.
Genus Tethya Lamarck, 1815
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