Leucetta floridana ( Haeckel, 1872 )

Fontana, Tayara, Cóndor-Luján, Báslavi, Azevedo, Fernanda, Pérez, Thierry & Klautau, Michelle, 2018, Diversity and distribution patterns of Calcareous sponges (subclass Calcinea) from Martinique, Zootaxa 4410 (2), pp. 331-369 : 357-359

Leucetta floridana ( Haeckel, 1872)

( Figure 13 , Table 12)

Synonyms. Amphoriscus floridanus: Haeckel 1872: 144 . Dyssycus floridanus: Haeckel 1872: 144 . Leucaltis floridana: Haeckel 1872: 144 . Leucaltis impura: Haeckel 1872: 144 . Leucaltis pura: Haeckel 1872: 144 . Leucetta aff. floridana: Lehnert & Van Soest 1998: 99 . Leucetta floridana: de Laubenfels 1950: 146 , Moraes et al. 2006: 167, Muricy et al. 2008: 132, Valderrama et al. 2009: 9, Lanna et al. 2009: 7, Muricy et al. 2011: 36–37, Rützler et al. 2014: 102, Azevedo et al. 2017: 333, Cóndor-Luján et al. 2018: 25. Leucetta microraphis: Tanita 1942: 111 , Borojevic & Peixinho 1976: 1003. Leucetta sp.: Moraes et al. 2003: 17. Leucilla floridana: Jenkin 1908: 453 . Lipostomella floridana: Haeckel 1872: 144 .

Material Examined. (22 specimens) UFRJPOR 7403, UFRJPOR 7405, UFRJPOR 7407, UFRJPOR 7408, UFRJPOR 7409, UFRJPOR 7423, UFRJPOR 7424, Pointe Burgos, Anses d'Arlet, Martinique (14°29.787' N – 61°5.351' W), collected by M. Klautau and T. Pérez, 0 6 December 2013 . UFRJPOR 7406, UFRJPOR 7410, UFRJPOR 7411, Pointe Burgos , Anses d'Arlet, Martinique (14°29.787' N – 61°5.351' W), collected by J. Vacelet, 0 3 December 2013 . UFRJPOR 7412, Pointe Burgos , Anses d'Arlet, Martinique (14°29.787' N – 61°5.351' W), collected by P. Leocorny, 0 6 December 2013 . UFRJPOR 7863, UFRJPOR 7865, UFRJPOR 7871, UFRJPOR 7877, UFRJPOR UFRJPOR 7777, UFRJPOR 7778, Anse de Fortune , Anses d'Arlet, Martinique (14°30.377' N – 61°05.850' W), collected by B. Cóndor-Luján , 16 May 2015, 6 m depth. UFRJPOR 7859, UFRJPOR 7861, Anse de Fortune , Anses d'Arlet, Martinique (14°30.377' N – 61°05.850' W), collected by B. Cóndor-Luján , 15 May 2015, 3 m depth. UFRJPOR 7862, Anse de Fortune , Anses d'Arlet, Martinique (14°30.377' N – 61°05.850' W), collected by B. Cóndor-Luján , 16 May 2015, 5 m depth. UFRJPOR 7845, Pointe Burgos , Anses d'Arlet, Martinique (14°29.787' N – 61°5.351' W), collected by B. Cóndor-Luján , 14 May 2015, 7– 8 m depth. UFRJPOR 7404, Pointe Burgos , Anses d'Arlet, Martinique (14°29.787' N – 61°5.351' W), collected by J. Vacelet, 0 4 December 2013 .

*From Valderrama et al. (2009).

Colour. White to light blue alive and beige to brown in ethanol.

Description. Body amorphous, consistency firm and friable and surface harsh ( Figures 13A–C ). Oscula are large and apical, without crown. Aquiferous system leuconoid.

Skeleton. Skeleton disorganised ( Figure 13D ), composed of two size categories of triactines and two of tetractines. It is not easy to recognise a distinct cortex and atrial membrane, as the spicules are present in all parts of the sponge body. However, triactines II and tetractines II are mainly concentrated in the cortex, while triactines I and tetractines I are principally in the choanosome and surrounding the atrium, which is hispid by the presence of the apical actines of tetractines I.

Spicules ( Table 12).

Triactines I: Regular or sagittal. Actines are conical, straight, with blunt tips. They are the most abundant spicules ( Figure 13E ). Size: 90.0–170.0/10.0–20.0 µm.

Tetractines I: Regular or sagittal. Actines are slightly conical, straight, with blunt to sharp tips ( Figure 13F ). The apical actine is smooth, thinner than the basal actines and has a sharp tip. Basal actines: 95.0–175.0/10.0–20.0 µm; Apical actine: 85.0–135.0/5.0–17.5 µm.

Triactines II: Regular. Actines are conical, straight, with blunt tips ( Figure 13G ). Size: 800.0–1650.0/125.0– 225.0 µm.

Tetractines II: Regular. These spicules are rare. Actines are conical, straight, with blunt tips ( Figure 13H ). Size: 1225.0–1350.0/200.0 µm.

Ecology. In Martinique, specimens of this species were found in caves and crevices, in depths of 3 to 8 m.

Geographical distribution. Florida ( Haeckel 1872), Bermuda (de Laubenfels 1950), Jamaica and Cayman Islands ( Lehnert & Van Soest 1998, Miloslavich et al. 2010), Panama and Colombia—Uraba and San Andres (Valderrama et al. 2009, Klautau et al. 2013), Brazil—Pará State, Maranhão State, Ceará State, Rio Grande do Norte State, Paraíba State, Pernambuco State, Alagoas State, Sergipe State, Bahia State, Espírito Santo State, Fernando de Noronha Archipelago and Rocas Atoll ( Borojevic & Peixinho 1976, Lanna et al. 2009, Valderrama et al. 2009, Muricy et al. 2011, Azevedo et al. 2017), Martinique (Pérez et al. 2017), Curaçao ( Cóndor-Luján et al. 2018).

Remarks. Originally described from Florida ( Haeckel 1872), L. floridana is very common in the Caribbean Sea and in the North and Northeast of Brazil, where the water is still warm. This distribution evidences the faunistical connection between Brazil and Caribbean.

In our phylogenetic tree ( Figure 16 ), the specimens analysed in this article grouped with specimens from Urabá and Brazil analysed by Valderrama et al. (2009) and specimens from Curaçao analysed by Cóndor-Luján et al. 2018 with a bootstrap of 99%. The p-distance ranged from 0 to 0.5%.

Figures

FIGURE 16. Maximum likelihood tree of the ITS nuclear marker for other genera within Clathrinidae. The Bootstrap values are shown in the branches.The sequences generated in the present study are marked with an asterisk.

FIGURE13. Leucetta floridana (UFRJPOR 7403). A-B. Specimens in situ(picture previously published in Pérez etal. 2017). C. Specimen in ethanol.D. Tangential section.E. Triactine I. F. Tetractine I. G. Tetractine II. H.Triactine II.