Agelas tubulata Lehnert

Ugalde, Diana, Gómez, Patricia & Simões, Nuno, 2015, Marine sponges (Porifera: Demospongiae) from the Gulf of México, new records and redescription of Erylus trisphaerus (de Laubenfels, 1953), Zootaxa 3911 (2), pp. 151-183 : 171-172

Agelas tubulata Lehnert & van Soest, 1996.

( Figs. 16 A–D, 22B)

Selected synonymy: Agelas tubulata Lehnert & van Soest, 1996:67; 1999:156; Parra-Velandia et al. 2014:321. Agelas conifera ; Zea 1987:212; Gómez 2002:75; Diaz 2005:470 (on diversity and distribution). Non Agelas conifera ( Schmidt, 1870) a valid species.

Material examined. CNPGG –1315 Alacranes reef (22º23’1.5”N 89º40’21.4”W) and CNPGG 1348 Alacranes reef (22º23’1.5”N 89º40’21.4”W), depth 12 m, 3/VIII/2009.

Description. The sponge is a cluster of thick tubes arising from a common base ( Fig. 22 B). Size of the tubes are 12–20 cm long, 3–12 cm wide and 3–5 cm in diameter. Apical pseudoscules are 1–3 cm in diameter, oscules inside atrial wall 1–2 mm in diameter and tiny oscules in the outer wall 3‒5 mm in diameter. It is orange-yellow alive and orange-brown in alcohol. The sponge surface is entirely smooth; the body is easily compressible and pliable, tough to tear and cut.

Skeleton. Anisotropic skeleton constituted by primary fibres 70–100 µm in diameter, cored by 5–6 acanthostyles and echinated by the same spicules as well, secondary fibres only echinated 20–60 µm in diameter, thinner towards the surface. Fibres forming a square grid (140–400 µm).

Spicules. Acanthostyles are straight with 9–18 whorls per spicule and 4–8 spines per whorl; length 72.8–96–150.8 × 5.2–7.8–10.4 µm width.

Distribution and ecology: Bahamas, East coast of Florida, Jamaica, Belize, Panama, Colombia, Brazil, from 7 to 37 m depth ( Parra-Velandia et al. 2014). Inhabits in coral reef environments, on calcareous substrate, 12 m depth. The species has been recorded in Xahuayxol (Mexican Caribbean; Gómez 2002) and Cuba (Alcolado 2002) both authors as A. conifera , this is the first record for the species as A. tubulata in the Gulf of Mexico.

Remarks: Agelas tubulata is a similar species to A. conifera ( Schmidt 1870) , and A. cerebrum Assmann et al.

(2001) based on several characteristics such as color, pinacoderm, skeletal arrangement, and spicule geometry ( Parra-Velandia et al. 2014). Particularly, A. tubulata has been confused with A. conifera but the body size/conetube relation, is higher in A. tubulata and lower in A. conifera ( Parra-Velandia et al. 2014) . More detailed features are discussed in the thorough study of Agelas from the greater Caribbean by Parra-Velandia et al. (2014).

Figures

FIGURE 16. Agelas tubulata Lehnert & van Soest, 1996: A. Specimen preserved in alcohol. B. Anisotropic reticulation of primary fibres with coring and echinating acanthostyles. C. Usual acanthostyles. D. Detail of both ends of acanthostyle in SEM. E. Range of sizes and ornamentation in acanthostyles.

FIGURE 22. Sponges in situ: A. Dragmacidon reticulatum. B. Agelas tubulata. C. Chalinula molitba. D. Dysidea variabilis.