Ircinia strobilina (Lamarck, 1816)

Synonymy and references. Ircinia strobilina (Lamarck, 1816): Wiedenmayer (1977): 61, pl. 5: 1, 2; van Soest (1978): 40; pl. 8: 2.

Material. USNM 1229144, Curlew Bank forereef cave, 20 m; C. Piantoni col. 29 Jun 2007.

External morphology. This specimen is cone-shaped, 4 cm tall, 3 cm in diameter. The surface conules are large, up to 7 mm tall and about that much apart from each other, and many are interconnected by ridges. There are a few oscula of 2 mm diameter, one of 5 mm near the top. Color is dark grayish brown.

Skeleton. The ectosome is a tough skin, with sand grains embedded. The fiber network is very similar to that in Ircinia felix, but coarser: primary, fasciculated fibers can be nearly 1 mm thick and are connected by branching secondaries. Filaments and their end knobs too resemble the ones in I. felix .

Ecology. Large specimens occur in abundance on the open reef, occasionally in the mangrove, but the species is rare in caves; most specimens were seen in 2– 20 m.

Distribution. Bermuda, Florida, and the entire Caribbean region; also off Brazil.