Haliclona (Halichoclona) albifragilis ( Hechtel, 1965 )

Bettcher, Larissa, Fernandez, Julio C. C., Gastaldi, Marianela, Bispo, André, Leal, Camille V., Leite, Dora, Avelino-Alves, Dhara, Clerier, Pedro H. B., Rezende, Dafinny, Gulart, Clara M. R., Pinheiro, Ulisses & Hajdu, Eduardo, 2023, Checklist, diversity descriptors and selected descriptions of a highly diverse intertidal sponge (Porifera) assemblage at Costa do Descobrimento (Bahia, Brazil), Zootaxa 5277 (3), pp. 443-489 : 465-469

Haliclona (Halichoclona) albifragilis ( Hechtel, 1965)

( Tab. 1–2, 8; Fig. 11A–J )

Synonymy. Adocia albifragilis, Hechtel (1965) .

Studied material. MNRJ 22236 , P.M.M. Coroa Alta (16°13.200′ S, 38°57.038′ W, Santa Cruz Cabrália, BA, Brazil), intertidal, coll. Fioravanso, A. & Gastaldi, M., 22 nd April 2019 . MNRJ 21903 , Recife do Mutá (16°20.721′ S, 39°0.067′ W, Porto Seguro, BA, Brazil), intertidal, coll. Fioravanso, A. & Gastaldi, M., 20 th April 2019 .

Description. Encrusting (0.2 cm thick), 2.0 cm maximum length. Surface rugose, with a few scattered oscules, 0.2 cm in diameter. Consistency compressible, but easily torn. Color in vivo beige translucent, and beige in fixative ( Tab. 8; Figs. 11A–B ).

Skeleton. Ectosome with an isodictyal reticulation, moderate spongin and paucispicular tracts. Choanosome with an irregular subisodictyal reticulation, paucispicular tracts and occasional reinforcing spongin ( Figs. 11C–D ).

Spicules. Megascleres only ( Tab. 8; Fig. 11E ): oxeas, smooth, slightly curved or straight, mostly acerate, with pointy or roundish terminations: 112–133.5–158 x 2.4–3.8–7.3 µm.

Distribution. Previously, West Indies ( Jamaica — Hechtel 1965; Barbados, Curaçao, Bonaire — de Weerdt 2000); Venezuela, Florida ( de Weerdt 2000). New record—Costa do Descobrimento (BA, Brazil).

Ecology. The specimen MNRJ 21903 was growing on a Geodia gibberosa Lamarck, 1815 and the specimen MNRJ 22236 was growing next to polychaete tubes, tunicates and algae. Both materials were in sciophilous microhabitat.

Remarks. Our specimens are very similar—in terms of habit, skeleton, spicules and ecology—to the original ( Hechtel, 1965) and subsequent descriptions ( de Weerdt, 2000) of H. (Halich.) albifragilis from the Caribbean. However, we observed that the skeletal architecture in Caribbean counterparts is slightly denser than in our Brazilian specimens. Nevertheless, this is interpreted here as morphological plasticity given the great similarity in other morphological features when Caribbean and Brazilian H. (Halich.) albifragilis are compared.

Figures

FIGURE 11. Haliclona (Halichoclona) albifragilis (Hechtel, 1965), MNRJ 21903: A, another specimen (MNRJ 22236) in life; B, fixed specimen; C, longitudinal section of the surface showing an isodictyal reticulation in the ectosomal region; D, transverse section showing an irregular subisodictyal reticulation in the choanosomal region; E, oxeas.