Latrunculia (Latrunculia) palmata Lévi, 1964

Samaai, Toufiek, Gibbons, Mark J. & Kelly, Michelle, 2006, Revision of the genus Latrunculia du Bocage, 1869 Porifera: Demospongiae: Latrunculiidae) with descriptions of new species from New Caledonia and the Northeastern Pacific (, Zootaxa 1127 (1), pp. 1-71 : 35-36

Latrunculia (Latrunculia) palmata Lévi, 1964

( Figs 1G, 2 ; Tables 2 & 3)

Latrunculia palmata Lévi, 1964 ; pg 70, FIG. 11 ET PL. X, FIG. F

Holotype material. L.B.I.M. No D.CL. 1390, spicule slide. Locality: Mer de Mindanao ( Philippines), 8° 48’N, 124° 09’E; stn 443, depth 1500 m. Danish Deep Sea Expedition ( Galathea Report ).

Description Sponge small semispherical to pyriform. Surface very finely granulated and velvety to the touch, being strongly folded creating many narrow furrows that converge at various places. Oscules not visible in sample. Colour in life unknown; in preservative dark brown (from Lévi, 1964).

Skeleton. The choanosomal skeleton consists of a dense regular polygonal­meshed reticulation formed by wispy tracts of smooth styles.

Spicules. Megascleres: styles smooth with narrow heads (almost strongyloxeate), fusiform and slightly sinuous, with a narrow head region often looking like strongyloxeas, 400 m x 8–9 m [authors measurements 394 (382–410) x 8–9 m]. Microscleres ( Fig. 1G): Anisodiscorhabds, the manubrium is slightly spined, forming a tripod structure, with a basal whorl just above the manubrium. Medium whorl is circular, broad, flat and horizontally arranged, being the largest of the three whorls, 40 m in diameter. The medium whorl is dividing into three distinct segments, each possessing 6 denticulate margins. The subsidiary whorl is slanted upwards, separated from the apical whorl by an extended shaft, 30–36 m in diameter. This whorl is also divided in 6 denticulate margins. The apical whorl is extended by the shaft region, ending in a crown like tuft. Anisodiscorhabd length, 50–55 m in length [authors’ measurements 57 (53–58) m].

Geographic distribution ( Fig. 2 ). Mindanao, Philippines, depth 1500 m.

Remarks. In his remarks Lévi (1964) said that this new species conforms to Latrunculia brevis described by Ridley and Dendy (1887) from Kerguelen and L. spinispiraefera Brøndsted , but differs however in the size of the megascleres and the form and size of the anisodiscorhabds ( Table 3). Lévi (1964), also suggested that the acanthodiscorhabd of L. palmata conforms to the typical shape of Latrunculia brevis Ridley and Dendy (see Fig. 1F, G), but varies from the latter species in having larger acanthodiscorhabds, an observation also confirmed by us (see Table 3). On observation of the spicule slide we found that the proximal end (head region) of the styles as found in L. palmata is rather narrow and that the spicule resembles strongyloxeas in appearance. L. palmata also has larger megascleres to that of L. brevis and L. spinispiraefera (see Table 3). Apart from this, L. palmata Lévi (1964) is also geographically separated from L. brevis Ridley and Dendy (see Fig. 2 , Table 2). Based on these differences we consider L. palmata to be a valid species and this decision can change if more information on the surface features and choanosomal architecture can be determined.

Figures

FIGURE 2. Worldwide distributions of Latrunculia (Latrunculia) species. Distributions of 1) Latrunculia cratera du Bocage, 2) L. bocagei Ridley and Dendy, 3) L. apicalis Ridley and Dendy, 4) L. biformis Kirkpatrick, 5) Latrunculia basilis Kirkpatrick, 6) L. brevis Ridley and Dendy, 7) Latrunculia palmata Lévi, 8) Latrunculia multirotalis Topsent, 9) Latrunculia crenulata Lévi, 10) Latrunculia ikematsui Tanita, 11) Latrunculia oxydiscorhabda Alvarez et al., 12) Latrunculia triverticillata Alvarez et al., 13) Latrunculia fiordensis Alvarez et al., 14) Latrunculia novaecaledoniae sp. nov.