Soleneiscus undetermined

Azevedo, Fernanda, Cóndor-Luján, Báslavi, Willenz, Philippe, Hajdu, Eduardo, Hooker, Yuri & Klautau, Michelle, 2015, Integrative taxonomy of calcareous sponges (subclass Calcinea) from the Peruvian coast: morphology, molecules, and biogeography, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 173 (4), pp. 787-817 : 808-810

SOLENEISCUS PEDICELLATUS SP. NOV.

( FIG. 10 ; TABLE 10)

Type material: Holotype (ethanol). MNRJ 16746 – fragments from the holotype: RBINSc-IG-POR 16746 . Paratypes (ethanol). MNRJ 16781 – fragment from the paratype: RBINSc-IG-POR 16781 . MNRJ 16782 – fragment from the paratype: RBINSc-IG-POR 16782 .

Material examined: Three specimens. MNRJ 16746 and MNRJ 16781 ; San José Inlet, Lobos de Afuera Islands , Lambayeque region (06°55′48.50′′S, 80°43′16.20′′W); collected by Y. Hooker and Ph. Willenz; 7–9 m depth; 09.x.2007 . MNRJ 16782 ; El Lagarto Islet, Lobos de Afuera Islands, Guano Islands , and Capes National Reserve System (06°56′01.20′′S, 80°42′19.90′′W); collected by E. Hajdu; 12 m depth; 04.x.2007 .

Type locality: San José Islet , Lobos de Afuera Islands , Guano Islands , and Capes National Reserve System, Peru .

Etymology: Named from the Latin pedicello, meaning small foot. Refers to the stalk of the sponge.

Colour: White in life as well as in ethanol. Description: Small solitary individuals (0.7 cm high) gathered in abundance and densely covering the substrate in patches reaching 25 cm 2 ( Fig. 10A–C ). Consistency is fragile. Tubular body is very similar to olynthi (juvenile Calcarea), with simple apical osculum (without ornamentation) and stalk (1.0 mm) attached to substrate. Some individuals bud from the stalk of others, but there is no anastomosis between adults. Granular cells were not observed. Aquiferous system is asconoid.

Skeleton: Composed of only parasagittal triactines ( Fig. 10D ). The unpaired actine is always basipetally directed. The three actines sometimes have different lengths.

Spicules ( Table 10):

1. Triactines: parasagittal. Actines are slightly conical, straight, with tips varying from blunt to sharp. The unpaired actine is basipetally orientated and is always longer than the paired ones. Frequently, it is also thicker than the paired actines ( Fig. 10E–G ).

Reproduction: Unknown

Ecology: This species lives in habitats with moderate to high amounts of sediment. Individuals were found underneath boulders, covering a gastropod shell ( Crepidula ) and a calcareous algae (red algae). Bryozoans, serpulid polychaetes, encrusting demosponges ( Chalinidae ) and calcareous sponges ( A. spirallata sp. nov. and Leucosolenia sp. ) were found close to this species. Leucosolenia sp. grows attached to S. pedicellatus sp. nov. Bathymetrical distribution extends from 7 to 12 m depth.

Geographical distribution: Lobos de Afuera Islands (6°S) ( Fig. 10H ) .

Remarks: Soleneiscus pedicellatus sp. nov. is the eighth species of the genus Soleneiscus and the first one with only triactines. As in other species of Soleneiscus , parasagittal spicules are common. It will not be a surprise if in the future S. pedicellatus sp. nov. proves to be part of a new genus. New findings on the molecular phylogeny of Clathrinida have shown that former Clathrina species grouped according to their spicule composition ( Rossi et al., 2011; Klautau et al., 2013). For example, species with only triactines formed a monophyletic clade, separated from species with tetractines. Unfortunately, it was not possible to obtain DNA sequences of this species to test our hypothesis.

KEY FOR CALCINEA FROM PERU

1. A Body formed by anastomosed tubes (cormus).......................................................................................2

B Body without anastomosis (solitary) .................................................... Soleneiscus pedicellatus sp. nov.

2. A Skeleton composed only of triactines..................................................................................................3

B Skeleton composed of triactines and tetractines ...................................................................................7

3. A Sponge yellow in life................................................................................................... Clathrina aurea

B Sponge white in life........................................................................................................................4

4. A Only one category of triactine...........................................................................................................5

B More than one category of triactine................................................................................................... 6

5. A Only regular triactines and presence of granular cells ................................... Clathrina peruana sp. nov.

B Subregular triactines and no granular cells ............................................... Clathrina aphrodita sp. nov.

6. A Two categories of triactines with only conical actines ........................................... Clathrina antofagastensis

B Three categories of triactines with slightly conical actines ............................ Clathrina nuroensis sp. nov.

7. A Tetractines are rare. Apical actine is spiralled ............................................. Arthuria spirallata sp. nov.

B Tetractines are the most abundant spicules. Apical actine is straight ................................ Ernstia tetractina

Figures

Figure 10. Soleneiscus pedicellatus sp. nov. (Holotype – MNRJ 16746). A, live specimen; B, specimen in ethanol; C, basal and median regions of tubular body (cross section); D, detail of apical region of tubular body (cross section); E-F, parasagittal triactines; G, subregular triactine; H, distribution map along the Peruvian coast.