Erylus formosus Sollas, 1886

Rützler, Klaus, Piantoni, Carla, Van, Rob W. M. & Díaz, Cristina, 2014, Diversity of sponges (Porifera) from cryptic habitats on the Belize barrier reef near Carrie Bow Cay, Zootaxa 3805 (1), pp. 1-129 : 23

Erylus formosus Sollas, 1886

Synonymy and references. Erylus formosus Sollas, 1886 : Wiedenmayer (1977): 181, fig. 174, pl. 39: 4, 40: 1, 2, 4, 5; Cardenas et al. (2009): 25, fig. 13.

Material. USNM 1228916, Carrie Bow Cay, forereef slope, coral rock underside, 30 m; K. Ruetzler col. 26 Apr 1974.

External morphology. A 10–15 mm thick crust covering about 60 cm 2 of the rock. Surface smooth, except for a few serpulid worm tubes and small bryozoans crusts, but bumpy, with scattered, elevated oscula (2–3mm) and numerous single pores (<0.2 mm). Live color was light bluish gray.

Skeleton structure. There is a cortex of aspidasters and microrhabds, followed underneath by radially arranged triaenes and bundles of oxeas. In the choanosome below, there are more oxeas, more or less tangential or without orientation, along with microspined tylasters and more microrhabds

Spicules. The megascleres are oxeas, slightly bent and with sharp points, a few modified to styloids: 900– 1100 x 20–30 (992 x 28) Μm; and plagiotriaenes, many grading into orthotriaenes: 330–600 x 15–35 (496 x 20) Μm for rhabds, 180–270 x 10–16 (227 x 12) Μm for clads. Microscleres include aspidasters, rod- to oval-shaped: 190–220 x 40 –100 (206 x 78) Μm; microrhabs, which are centrotylote and vary from oxeate to strongyloxeate, 55–100 x 4–7 (71 x 5) Μm; and miscrospined tylaster, a few grading to oxyasters: 15–38 (30) Μm.

Ecology. A common shallow-reef species in 3–6 m, also found in cryptic habitats to 30 m.

Distribution. Caribbean and Brazil.

Comments. The color of this species when found in full light exposure is purplish gray to brown or nearly black.