Calyx podatypa

Rützler, Klaus, Piantoni, Carla, Van, Rob W. M. & Díaz, Cristina, 2014, Diversity of sponges (Porifera) from cryptic habitats on the Belize barrier reef near Carrie Bow Cay, Zootaxa 3805 (1), pp. 1-129 : 86-87

Calyx podatypa (de Laubenfels, 1934)

Synonymy and references. Pachypellina podatypa (de Laubenfels, 1934): van Soest (1980): 91, fig. 34, pl. 14: 3; Zea (1987): 132, fig. 41, pl. 9: 8.

Material. USNM 1229122, Carrie Bow Cay South Reef, lower surface of Acropora palmata coral slab, 1 m; K. Ruetzler col. 9 Jan 1988.

Additional material examined: holotype, USNM 22305, Puerto Rico.

External morphology. Branching crust, with meandering branches reaching 25 mm width and 7 mm thickness. Hollow inside, oscula flush with surface, circular, irregularly dispersed or clustered in small groups; 1–3 mm in diameter. Smooth surface, crumbly consistency. Color chestnut brown where exposed to light at the edge of the coral slab, cream elsewhere.

Skeleton structure. Tangential orientation of spicules in the ectosome, an unispicular, isotropic reticulation and a few ill-defined tracts in the choanosome.

Spicules. Slim, acerate, slightly bent oxeas 140–165 x 4–6 (146 x 5) Μm.

Ecology. Mostly cryptic on reefs (1–35 m), also on open substrata of the deep forereef; to 90 m.

Distribution. Bahamas and Caribbean.

Comments. The spicule dimension means of our specimen are smaller than those reported from Puerto Rico (van Soest, 1980: 170 x 5 Μm) and Colombia ( Zea, 1987: 155 x 6 Μm) but fit well with the holotype, USNM 22305, also from Puerto Rico (130 x 4 Μm).