Stylocordyla cf. chupachups Uriz, Gili, Orejas & Perez-Porro, 2011

Göcke, Christian & Janussen, Dorte, 2013, Demospongiae of ANT XXIV / 2 (SYSTCO I) Expedition — Antarctic Eastern Weddell Sea, Zootaxa 3692 (1), pp. 28-101 : 44

Stylocordyla cf. chupachups Uriz, Gili, Orejas & Perez-Porro, 2011

( Fig. 3 E)

Stylocordyla chupachups Uriz, Gili, Orejas & Perez-Porro, 2011 , 247–251, figs. 3–7.

Material. 3 specimens from station 048-1 (SMF 11771), 602.1 m, 70° 23.94' S, 8° 19.14' W, 12.01.2008.

Description. Our specimens three very small, probably juvenile sponges, having rounded bodies on thin stalks. The largest specimen has a body diameter of 2 mm. Spicules are oxeas, often centrotylote, about 270 to 510 µm in length and 8 to 10 µm in diameter and filamentous oxeas with one end elongated, about 400 to 550 µm in length and 5 µm in diameter.

Remarks. Due to the small size of the sponges, the number of spicules in our preparations is low and gaps in the spicule inventory are not surprising.

The characters of our sponges are in well accordance with those described for the holotype by Uriz et al. (2011), with the exception that most spicules are significantly shorter than in the type. This might be caused by the juvenile state of our sponges, as also Uriz et al. (2011) mentioned that the spicules were smaller in younger specimens. The species has a complicated and long history, it was recorded several times from the Antarctic under the name of the Arctic S. borealis , i.e. by Koltun (1964; 1976) and Hentschel (1914). It was only by means of sophisticated morphological investigations, that Uriz et al. (2011) were able to show that the spherical morphotype within the Antarctic Stylocordyla is distinctly different from the Arctic ones. Still, the identities of some older Antarctic records of S. borealis need to be re-examined to be sure about their correct species assignment, as the species shows a high degree of variation in its body shape (from round to elongate). Currently it seems that S. borealis is a purely Arctic species with no Antarctic occurrences.

Figures

FIGURE 3. Habitus pictures. A: Tetilla leptoderma Sollas, 1886 (SMF 11760), alive, ex situ, B: Polymastia invaginata Kirkpatrick, 1907 (SMF 11777), alive, ex situ, C: Tentorium semisuberites (Schmidt, 1870) (SMF 11788), alive, ex situ, D: Tentorium papillatum (Kirkpatrick, 1908) (SMF 11787), alive, ex situ, E: Stylocordyla cf. chupachups Uriz, Gili, Orejas & Perez-Porro, 2011 (SMF 11771), in ethanol, F: Iophon unicorne Topsent, 1907 (SMF 11812), in ethanol, G: Raspailia (Hymeraphiopsis) irregularis Hentschel, 1914 (SMF 11806), in ethanol, H: Inflatella belli (Kirkpatrick, 1907) (SMF 11811), in ethanol, I: Lissodendoryx (Ectyodoryx) ramilobosa (Topsent, 1916) (SMF 11808), in ethanol, J: Lissodendoryx (Lissodendoryx) cf. styloderma Hentschel, 1914 (SMF 11826), in ethanol, K: Crella (Pytheas) crassa (Hentschel, 1914) (SMF 11832), in ethanol. Scale bars: A: 30 mm, B: 10, F – K mm, C – E: 5 mm.