Weberella haengwonensis, Kim & Sim, 2021

Kim, Young A & Sim, Chung Ja, 2021, Ten new species of families Suberitidae and Polymastiidae (Demospongia: Heteroscleromorpha) from Korea, Journal of Species Research 10 (2), pp. 168-183 : 180-182

10. Weberella haengwonensis n. sp. ( Fig. 12 )

ǭùũŀƞḁḍ (ṳḋ)

Type specimen. Holotype (NIBRIV0000879330), Korea: Haengwon-ro, Gujwa-eup, Jeju-si , Jeju-do, 16 May 2010, Kim BI, by SCUBA, depth 25 m, deposited in NIBR.

Description. Flabellate shape with thick and short stalk. Size up to 5.5 × 3 × 1 cm. Surface smooth covered by short conical papillae which are semi-transparent in life and when preserved, papillae become highly contractile and invisible on the surface. Oscules opened at apical of each papilla. Texture firm and elastic. Color orange in life, beige in alcohol.

Skeleton: Cortex, 0.5 mm thick, consists of a dense palisade of small tylostyles. Choanosome irregularly reticulated with medium size tylostyles. Large tylostyles cover part of the stalk. Heavy collagen mixed with spicules. Spicules. Large subtylostyles, 1,000 -1,100 × 10- 15 μm at the center of stalk, medium tylostyles, 400- 500 × 10 μm and small tylostyles, 115-150 × 3-4 μm.

Etymology. The species name, haengwonensis, is named after the type locality of Haengwon, Jeju-si, Jeju-do.

Remarks. This new species is similar to W. verrucosa in shape with thick stalk, but differs vastly in surface papillae and spicule size. This new species has more thin and sharp papillae, which are semitransparent and sometimes resemble hooks. Spicules are longer than those of W. verrucosa ( Vacelet, 1960) .

Figures

Fig. 12. Weberella haeungwonensis n. sp. A, external morphology; B, surface with conical papillae; C, half section of sponge in vertical cut; D, large and small tylostyles; E, tylostyles; F, flexus tylostyles; G, H, small stylostyles at the surface. Scale bars: A=1.4 cm, B=2 cm, C=1 cm, D, F, G=50μm, E, H=25μm.