Geodia cribrata, Rützler, Klaus, Piantoni, Carla, Van, Rob W. M. & Díaz, Cristina, 2014

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 : 23-25

Geodia cribrata new species

( Figures 3 b, 11)

Material. Holotype: USNM 1228917, Curlew Bank South, framework cave, 29 m; K. Koltes and J. Tschirky col. 31 Jul 2001. In addition, we have an in situ photograph (courtesy D. Fenner) of a specimen from a nearby cave that was not collected.

Diagnosis. Thickly encrusting, pinkish red Geodia without typical oscula, with pore sieves as the only morphological features dedicated to water exchange. With thick, non-detachable cortex built up by large (mean diameter: 110 Μm) sterrasters. With additional spiculation of large oxeas, small (cortical) strongyloxeas, ortho-and plagiotriaenes, and microspined oxyasters and sphaerostrongylasters.

External morphology. The holotype is a cushion-like piece measuring 12 x 8 cm, 6 cm thick but a photograph taken earlier of another specimen in the same habitat (not collected) shows a size of nearly double that, covering about 150 cm 2 of cave wall. The corrugate surface is interrupted by smooth, circular or oval depressions, 2.5 x 2.5 cm to 4 x 4 cm, dotted by numerous inhalant or exhalant, 0.2–1 mm diameter openings (pore sieves); some irregular, also smooth and depressed areas are without visible openings. There are two pore sieves on the type specimen, seven on the in-situ-photographed sponge. The elevated ridges and wrinkles, including those surrounding the pore sieves, are rough to the touch and encrusted by some encrusting coralline algae. The color of the ridges is brown to gray-brown, with some red from fouling corallines, or green from associated cyanobacteria. The smooth, depressed areas, including the pore sieves, are free of epizoans and of clear pinkish-red color in life, proper to the sponge.

Skeleton structure. A thick cortex (1.5–4 mm) cannot be separated (pulled apart) from the rest of the body. It contains packed sterrasters as the main structural crust and other asteroid microscleres, as well as cortical anisoxeas. Triaenes and derivatives occur in radial orientation below, with cladomes outward against the cortex, as well as large oxeas. The pulp of the choanosome includes oxeas, oriented radially or not at all, and oxyasters.

Spicules. Large oxeas, slightly curved and acerate, 1400– 2010 x 13–28 (1650 x 21) Μm; orthotriaenes and plagiotriaenes, some reduced to asymmetrical diaenes, but all in the same size class: 1010–5100 x 12–45 (2671 x 26) Μm, clads: 20–420 (202) Μm; sterrasters, spherical or slightly ovoid: 90–120 (110) Μm; cortical strongyloxeas: 110–410 x 7–10 (295 x 9) Μm; microspined oxyasters: 18–29 (22) Μm; microspined strongylasters: 5–8 (7).

Ecology. Both, the type and the photographed specimen were found inside forereef caves, in 25–30 m depth.

Distribution. Belize.

Etymology. Named for the prominent pore sieves (Latin cribrum, sieve).

Comments. Based on spiculation, this species is close to the two other Geodia species commonly found on Carrie Bow reefs, G. gibberosa (see below) and G. neptuni (Sollas) , the latter of which we did not find in caves. G. cribrata can be distinguished from both by having only pore sieves as aquiferous systems, no oscula, and by the pinkish red color. Furthermore, its sterrasters are considerably larger, 110 Μm mean diameter versus 67 Μm in G. gibberosa and 45 Μm in G. neptuni (the latter value re-measured from the holotype by Hajdu et al., 1992; in some of our Belize reef material we calculated a mean value of 70 Μm).

Figures

FIGURE 3. In-situ photographs of new sponge species reported in this contribution (measurements in parentheses are picture widths): a, Tetralophophora mesoamericana (3 cm); b, Geodia cribrata (12 cm); c, Placospongia caribica on “ pseudostalactite ” made up by calcareous serpulid tubes (5 cm); d, Prosuberites carriebowensis (adjacent to Monanchora arbuscula to the lower right) (4 cm); e, Timea diplasterina (8 cm); f, Timea oxyasterina (4 cm); g, Rhaphidhistia belizensis (14 cm).