Callyspongia (Callyspongia) roosevelti, Van, Rob W. M., Kaiser, Kirstie L. & Syoc, Robert Van, 2011

Van, Rob W. M., Kaiser, Kirstie L. & Syoc, Robert Van, 2011, Sponges from Clipperton Island, East Pacific, Zootaxa 2839, pp. 1-46 : 29-31

Callyspongia (Callyspongia) roosevelti n. sp.

( Figs 13 A–F)

Callyspongia vaginalis sensu De Laubenfels, 1939: 2 (not: Callyspongia (Cladochalina) vaginalis ( Lamarck, 1814) .

Holotype. ZMA Por. 13984, Clipperton Island Expedition 1994, 10 °18’N 109°13’W, 9–18 m, coll. K. Kaiser, 14– 26 April 1994, 1 specimen.

Paratype ZMA Por. 13983, same data, 1 specimen.

Paratype ZMA Por. 13985, same data, 1 specimen.

Paratype USNM 22659, Clipperton Island, shore collecting on rocks, to south of landing place, coll. W.L. Schmitt, July 21, 1938, nr. 9, ‘Presidential Cruise 1938, Honorable Franklin D. Roosevelt, donor’ ( Fig. 13 B).

Paratypes CASIZ 180250, Clipperton Island Expedition 1994, NE side, 15 m, coll. R.J. van Syoc nr. RVS–221, 18 –04–1994, 2 specimens.

Paratypes MNHN DCL 4039, Jean-Louis Etienne Expédition Clipperton 2005, station 38, 17 m, on dead corals, 28–01–2005, 2 specimens.

Paratypes MNHN DCL 4041, Jean-Louis Etienne Expédition Clipperton 2005, station 45, 22 m, on dead corals, 5–02–2005, 3 specimens.

Paratypes MNHN DCL 4043, Jean-Louis Etienne Expédition Clipperton 2005, station 29, 10 m, on dead corals, 24–01–2005, 10 specimens.

Paratypes MNHN DCL 4046, Jean-Louis Etienne Expédition Clipperton 2005, station 3, 20 m, on dead corals, 8–01–2005, 4 specimens.

Paratypes MNHN DCL 4048–B, Jean-Louis Etienne Expédition Clipperton 2005, station 42, 8 m, on dead corals, 31–01–2005, 4 specimens.

Paratypes MNHN DCL 4049–B, Jean-Louis Etienne Expédition Clipperton 2005, station 42, 8 m, on dead corals, 31–01–2005, 17 specimens ( Fig. 13 C).

Paratypes MNHN DCL 4050–A, Jean-Louis Etienne Expédition Clipperton 2005, station 42, 8 m, on dead corals, 31–01–2005, 5 specimens.

Paratypes MNHN DCL 4052–A, Jean-Louis Etienne Expédition Clipperton 2005, station 42, 8 m, on dead corals, 6–01–2005, 6 specimens.

Paratypes MNHN DCL 4053–C, Jean-Louis Etienne Expédition Clipperton 2005, station and depth not recorded, on dead corals, 20 specimens.

Paratype MNHN DCL 4058, Jean-Louis Etienne Expédition Clipperton 2005, station 2, on dead corals, 7–01– 2005, 1 specimen.

Paratype MNHN DCL 4060, Jean-Louis Etienne Expédition Clipperton 2005, station 1, on dead corals, 6–01– 2005, 1 specimen.

Paratype MNHN DCL 4062–B, Jean-Louis Etienne Expédition Clipperton 2005, station 25, 18 m, on dead corals, 23–01–2005, 1 specimen.

Description. Repent ramose sponge with lobate outgrowths ( Figs 13 A–C). Most specimens are attached partly or wholly to dead coral. Surface optically smooth, color red-brown (in alcohol). Maximum length of branches 3.5 cm, diameter approx. 0.6– 1 cm, lobes also up to 1 cm in diameter. Oscules regularly distributed over branches and lobes, usually not at the summit of lobes, but slightly off-centre; they are flush with the surface and have a diameter of 2–4 mm. Consistency toughly compressible, not easily damaged.

Skeleton. Strongly developed stratified spongin fibers cored sparingly by diactinal spicules. Ectosomal skeleton ( Figs 13 D–E) the usual double network of polygonal primary meshes 500–750 µm in diameter made by primary fibers of 30–90 µm thickness, subdivided by triangular secondary meshes of 100–250 µm made by fibers of 15–27 µm thickness. All fibers are cored by single spicules. The surface of the ectosomal network is in places echinated by small brushes of one or two spongin-encased spicules, but only irregularly so, not like in the subgenus Euplacella . Choanosomal skeleton ( Fig. 13 F) is a relatively irregular reticulation of heavily stratified knotty fibers forming occasional rectangular but more frequently polygonal meshes. Little distinction between primary and secondary fibers other than direction and more frequent pausicpicular coring in the former. Meshes 150–500 µm in diameter. Primary fibers 60–90 µm in thickness with a core of 1 – 5 spicules (usually 1 or 2) which are not aligned but tend to fan out within the fiber core. Secondary fibers 40–70 µm in thickness, usually cored by a single spicule.

Spicules. Thin, strongylote, apices rounded but tapering, size 48– 60.8 – 71 x 0.5–1 µm.

Etymology. Named after President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who facilitated the 1938 cruise to Île Clipperton which allowed W.L. Schmitt to collect the first specimen of the new species.

Ecology. Encrusting dead coral in shallow-water down to 22 m.

Remarks. De Laubenfels (1939) recorded Callyspongia vaginalis ( Lamarck, 1814) from Clipperton Island but he did not provide a description. C. vaginalis is a common Caribbean species belonging to the subgenus Cladochalina Schmidt, 1870 , forming large tubes with a strongly conulose surface, polyspicular fibers and oxea-shaped spicules. The Clipperton material of De Laubenfels ( Fig. 13 B) is quite dissimilar in shape to the Caribbean species.

Dickinson (1945) described Callyspongia californica from the Pacific coast of Mexico. This is similar in shape to our new species but differs clearly in the size of the spicules (oxeas of up to 150 x 5 µm) and coring of the choanosomal fibers (up to 20 spicules). The species was recently redescribed by Cruz-Barraza & Carballo (2008) as blue in life, with a multispicular skeletal reticulation and spicules of 52– 73 –117 x 1.3– 2.4 –5 µm. It is likely that this species belongs to the subgenus Cladochalina , unlike our new species.

Desqueyroux-Faúndez (1990) reported Callyspongia fusifera ( Thiele, 1905 as Chalina ) from Easter Island. This species, originally from Patagonia, forms similar small lobes as the above described specimens, but differs also clearly by the thickness of the spicules (up to 7 µm), the extent of coring of the main fibers (up to 8 spicules in cross section) and the consistency (soft).

The Clipperton collection of the Jean-Louis Etienne 2004/5 Expedition contains a further specimen of Callyspongia (Callyspongia) which is so macerated that it is not possible to classify it properly; its skeleton is much lighter built than that of the above specimens, fibers are thinner and meshes are larger. The spicules are similar in size and shape to those of C. (C.) roosevelti n. sp., but it could also belong to the genus Chalinula Schmidt, 1868 .

Figures

FIGURE 13. Callyspongia (Callyspongia) roosevelti n. sp., A. holotype ZMA Por. 13984, scale bar = 1 cm, B. paratype USNM 22659 originally reported as Callyspongia vaginalis by De Laubenfels (1939), C. paratypes MNHN DCL 4049 – B, D. light microscopic view of the ectosomal skeleton showing the characteristic double-meshed Callyspongia skeleton, scale bar = 100 µm, E. detail of the same, showing single thin spicules coring the fibers, scale bar = 50 µm, F. choanosomal skeleton showing knotted fibers with a light core of spicules, scale bar = 100 µm.