Clathrina primordialis ( Haeckel, 1872 )

Klautau, Michelle, Imešek, Mirna, Azevedo, Fernanda, Pleše, Bruna, Nikolić, Vedran & Ćetković, Helena, 2016, Adriatic calcarean sponges (Porifera, Calcarea), with the description of six new species and a richness analysis, European Journal of Taxonomy 178, pp. 1-52 : 18-21

Clathrina primordialis ( Haeckel, 1872)

Fig. 7 ; Table 7

? Grantia pulchra Schmidt, 1862:18 .

? Leucosolenia pulchra Schmidt, 1866: 8 .

Prosycum primordiale Haeckel, 1870: 237 .

Olynthus simplex Haeckel, 1870: 237 .

Nardoa arabica Miklucho in Haeckel, 1872: 16 .

Ascetta primordialis Haeckel, 1872: 16 .

Olynthus primordialis Haeckel, 1872: 16 .

Clistolynthus primordialis Haeckel, 1872: 16 .

Soleniscus primordialis Haeckel, 1872: 16 .

Ascometra primordialis Haeckel, 1872: 16 .

? Ascaltis primordialis Haeckel, 1872: 17 .

? Ascortis primordialis Haeckel, 1872: 17 .

? Ascandra primordialis Haeckel, 1872: 18 .

Ascetta primordialis Lendenfeld, 1885: 897 .

L. primordialis var. apicalis Brøndsted, 1931: 9 .

Clathrina cf. hondurensis – Imesek et al. 2014: 25.

Ascetta primordialis – Lendenfeld 1891: 11. — Arnesen 1901: 12.

Clathrina primordialis – Carter 1886: 510. — Minchin 1896: 359. — Jenkin 1908: 436. — Row 1909: 184. — Klautau & Valentine 2003: 32 . — Longo & Pronzato 2011: 229.

Leucosolenia primordialis – Lackschewitsch 1886: 299. — Breitfuss 1898a: 12; 1898b: 91. — Dendy & Row 1913: 726. — Ferrer Hernández 1918: 10. — Burton 1926: 71; 1963: 197. — Row & Hôzawa 1931: 736. — Breitfuss 1932: 242; 1935: 12. — Arndt 1941: 45. — Tanita 1942: 73; 1943: 370.

non C. primordialis – Borojević 1971: 527. — Borojević & Peixinho 1976: 992. — Mothes de Moraes 1985: 228. — Klautau et al. 1994: 372. — Muricy & Silva 1999: 160.

Material examined

Syntype

ADRIATIC SEA: Lesina (Croatian: Island of Hvar), E. Haeckel collection (PMJ-Inv. Nr. Porif. 154, in ethanol).

Other material

ADRIATIC SEA: near the Island of Čiovo, Croatia, 43°28'58.5" N, 16°21'25.6" E; 5 m, collected by B. Pleše and V. Nikolić, 5 Nov. 2010 ( IRB-CLB 3 = UFRJPOR 6863).

Colour

White in life and in ethanol.

Description

Cormus is formed by large and loosely anastomosed tubes. Water-collecting tubes are absent ( Fig. 7A ). The skeleton is composed of one category of triactines ( Fig. 7B ). The size of the spicules is very variable and it is therefore not possible to categorize them.

Spicules ( Table 7)

TRIACTINES. Regular (equiangular and equiradiate). Actines are conical to slightly conical with sharp tips ( Fig. 7C ). Their size is very variable. Size: 121.5/ 12.2 µm.

Ecology

The specimen was collected on a shaded, vertical hard limestone bottom.

Remarks

Haeckel (1872) assigned the name Ascetta primordialis to a group of different species, and even genera, whose skeleton comprised only triactines, but, unfortunately, did not select a holotype. In 2003, Klautau & Valentine revised the genus Clathrina and analysed two specimens of C. primordialis , one from the Adriatic Sea (PMJ 154) and another one from Naples (ZMB 1306). Both specimens clearly represented different species and the authors suggested the specimen ZMB 1306 was the true C. primordialis , because C. primordialis (originally Prosycum primordiale Haeckel, 1870 ) was first described from Naples.

However, analysing the present specimen and re-analysing the slides of the specimens PMJ 154 and ZMB 1306 and the catalogue from the ZMB, we now have a different opinion. On the specimen’s label and in the catalogue of the ZMB it is not noted that ZMB 1306 is a syntype of C. primordialis . Consequently, Klautau & Valentine (2003) should not have designated the specimen ZMB 1306 as a lectotype of C. primordialis . On the other hand, the label of the specimen PMJ 154 mentions it is a

syntype of C. primordialis . Therefore, in our opinion, the specimen PMJ 154 is more reliably a true representative of this species and should be considered the lectotype of C. primordialis .

Considering the morphology of PMJ 154, the specimen IRB-CLB3 = UFRJPOR 6863 represents C. primordialis , as well as the specimen PMR 14305, recently published as C. cf. hondurensis Klautau & Valentine, 2003 ( Imešek et al. 2014). The similarities between C. primordialis and C. hondurensis made us ponder on the possibility of synonymy between these two species. However, as we could not obtain DNA sequences of C. hondurensis from the type locality ( Honduras) to verify this, we prefer to keep C. hondurensis as a valid species restricted to the Caribbean Sea, until further analyses are done.

Subclass Calcaronea Bidder, 1898

Genus Leucandra Haeckel, 1872

Figures

Fig. 7. Clathrina primordialis (IRB-CLB3 = UFRJPOR 6863). A. Specimen in situ. B. Tangential section. C. Triactines with variable sizes and shapes.