Smenospongia cf. echina (de Laubenfels, 1934)

Fig. 62

Diagnostic features.

Globular to cushion shape, dirty yellow to grayish in life, brownish purple in alcohol. The surface has shallow roundish warts (≤1 cm wide) but feels smooth to the touch. Oscula from 2 mm to> 1 cm wide, with a slightly elevated membrane.

Similar species.

Similar to verongiid species, Smenospongia spp. tends to turn purplish after collection.

Distribution and abundance.

Smenospongia echina occurs in low abundance at shallow and mesophotic reefs in Puerto Rico (60-72 m), Belize, Florida (Dry Tortugas), Cayman Islands, and Cuba. At FGBNMS the species occurs in rare to low abundance (1-10) at four sites.

Ecology.

Lower mesophotic reefs, coralline algae reefs.

Ideentification.

CA, KR, SK, MCD.

Reference.

van Soest 1978; Rützler et al. 2014.