Hamigera Gray, 1867

Ott, B., Mcdaniel, N. & Humphrey, E., 2024, Fourteen new species of demosponges (Porifera) from three coastal fjords in southern British Columbia, Canada, Zootaxa 5463 (2), pp. 151-200 : 164

Genus Hamigera Gray, 1867

Hamigera are encrusting to massive with slightly elevated oscula and pores in areolate porefields with diactinal spicules forming brushes around the porefields.The choanosome skeleton is composed of plumose tracts. Strongyles, strongylote tornotes may be mixed with styles or subtylostyles in some species. Tracts may be echinated by styles or subtylostyles (Van Soest 2002 [2004]a). There are eight accepted species of Hamigera (de Voogd, et al. 2023). Most are reported for shallow water (less than 40 m, including our BC species); two are reported from Clementville Seamount, New Zealand, one at 680 m and the other at about 1100 m. Most Hamigera species are reported for the Australia and New Zealand area. Three, including the sponge described in this paper, are outside this area: H. bakusi n. sp. (Northeast Pacific, BC), H. hamigera ( Schmidt, 1862) (Mediterranean), and H. cleistochela Bertolino, Costa & Pansini, 2019 ( Chile).