Chondrilla caribensis Rützler, Duran & Piantoni, 2007

Ugalde, Diana, Fernandez, Julio C. C., Gómez, Patricia, Lôbo-Hajdu, Gisele & Simões, Nuno, 2021, An update on the diversity of marine sponges in the southern Gulf of Mexico coral reefs, Zootaxa 5031 (1), pp. 1-112 : 92-93

Chondrilla caribensis Rützler, Duran & Piantoni, 2007

Tables 6, 7; Figs. 86A–B , 88K

Synonymy and references: Chondrilla caribensis Rützler, Duran & Piantoni (2007: 100) , and Rützler et al. (2014: 53), Ugalde et al. (2015: 161), and van Soest (2017: 12); Chondrilla caribensis cf. caribensis and Chondrilla caribensis cf. hermatypica: Gómez (2007: 57), and Pérez et al. (2017: 9).

Type locality. Belize .

Material examined. CNPGG-2405, Hornos reef (19.19083°N, 96.11777°W), 3 m depth, coll. Diana Ugalde, 27 August 2018.

Distribution. Mexico ( Gómez 2007; current records), Bermuda, Bahamas, US (Florida), other countries in the Caribbean Sea ( Ugalde et al. 2015), Guyana to Brazil ( van Soest 2017).

Remarks. Chondrilla caribensis has two intraspecific forms: forma caribensis mainly distributed in the mangroves habitat, and generally grayish to chestnut and purplish-brown color, and forma hermatypica mainly distributed in coral reef areas, distinguished by a yellowish brown to olive color and lighter areolas surrounding the oscules ( Rützler et al. 2007a). Although both forms share similar sizes of spherasters, forma caribensis has spherasters with microspination on the tips, and hermatypica lacks the microspination. To distinguish between both forms it is necessary to examine SEM micrographs.

Up to now, C. caribensis has been reported it the northern sector of the GoM ( Rützler et al. 2007a) and in the Campeche Bank reef by Ugalde et al. (2015).

Order Chondrosiida Boury-Esnault & Lopes, 1985

Figures

FIGURE 86. Chondrilla caribensis Rützler, Duran & Piantoni, 2007 (CNPGG-2405), skeleton and spicules:A. transversal section of the skeleton; B. spherasters. Scale bars: A = 500 µm; B = 50 µm.

FIGURE 88. In situ photographs of species analyzed in the present study: A. Aiolochroia crassa (Hyatt, 1875) (CNPGG 2250); B. Aiolochroia crassa (Hyatt, 1875) (CNPGG 2205); C. Aplysina cauliformis (Carter, 1882), specimen from Alacranes reef (Campeche Bank), not collected; D. Aplysina fistularis (Pallas, 1766) (CNPGG-1235); E. Aplysina fistularis (Pallas, 1766) (CNPGG-1381); F. Aplysina fulva (Pallas, 1766) (CNPGG-2361); G. Aplysina fulva (Pallas, 1766) (CNPGG-1961); H. Aplysina insularis (Duchassaing & Michelotti, 1864) (CNPGG-2255); I. Aplysina lacunosa (Lamarck, 1814) (CNPGG-1395); J. Suberea flavolivescens (Hofman & Kielman, 1992) (CNPGG-2169), arrows indicating specimens and surface detail zoomed in; K. Chondrilla caribensis Rützler, Duran & Piantoni, 2007 (CNPGG-2405); L. Chondrosia collectrix (Schmidt, 1870) (CNPGG- 2228). Scale bars, A–L = 1