Haliclona (Soestella) caerulea Hechtel, 1965

Figure 3, Table 3

Examined material. MUHNES-91-1— Las Parguetas (13°29’45.2”N, 89°46’22.1”W) depth 12 m, A. Trejo (13. VI.2018) ; MUHNES-91-35— Punta de Monte (13°30’2.8”N, 89°48’45.9”W) depth 16 m, A. Trejo (17.VI.2018) ; MUHNES-91-49— La Naviera (13°30’6.8”N, 89°47’51.4”W) depth 15 m, A. Trejo (17.VI.2018) .

Description. Sponge that lives in association with the calcareous algae Jania adherens J.V.Lamouroux, 1816, it is massive and has mounds that resemble small volcanoes. The oscula are circular and mostly oval, 2–6 mm in diameter (Figure 3A). The surface is rough, not very compressible and brittle. The ectosome is regular, tangential, made up of single oxeas that are joined at each end by spongin (Figure 3D). The choanosome is more difficult to differentiate due to the ramifications of the calcareous algae, but a reticulate network of spicule lines is distinguished (Figure 3E). It has robust oxeas, with a slight curve in the middle and sharp ends (168.5 x 6.7 µm), the microsclere are C-shaped sigmas (20.4 µm) (Figure 3B–C).

Ecological notes. The species was found over rocks and calcareous algae from 12 to 16 m deep.

Distribution and previous records. The species was described by Hechtel in 1965 from Jamaica and has been reported from different Caribbean locations as Curaçao (Van Soest 1980), Gulf of Mexico (Rützler et al. 2009; Ugalde et al. 2021), Belize (Rützler et al. 2000) and Bocas del Toro, Panamá (Díaz 2005). Its distribution in the Pacific Ocean has been reported from Hawaii (Núñez et al. 2017), the Mexican Pacific coast (Cruz-Barraza & Carballo 2008) and the Pacific of Panama (Wulff 1996). Here we extend the species distribution and present the first record from Los Cóbanos, El Salvador (Table 12).

Remarks. The specimens coincide with the original description in size and form of the spicules (Hetchel 1965). They also agree with the ones described by Cruz-Barraza & Carballo (2008) which they found between the intertidal to 6 m depth, unlike our specimens that were found from 12 to 15 m depth. There are two other Hacliclona (Soestella) species described from the eastern Pacific: H. (S.) spuma and H. (S.) roslynae Sim-Smith, Hickman & Kelly, 2021, but these species have larger oxeas (up to 192 x 13 µm and 117x7 µm respectively) and they lack of microsclere (Sim-Smith et al. 2021).