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Calcareous sponges from the French Polynesia (Porifera: Calcarea)

March 2020
Zootaxa 4748(2):261-295

March 2020
4748(2):261-295

DOI:10.11646/zootaxa.4748.2.3

Authors:

Michelle Klautau

Federal University of Rio de Janeiro

Matheus Vieira Lopes

Federal University of Rio de Janeiro

Bruna Guarabyra

Federal University of Rio de Janeiro

Eric Folcher

Institute of Research for Development

Show all 6 authorsHide

Although the French Polynesian reefs are among the most well studied reefs of the world, sponges are still poorly known, with only 199 species or OTUs of sponges having been described from French Polynesia, 167 at an OTU level and 32 at a species level. From those 199 species, just five are calcareous sponges. As it is possible that this number is underestimated, the aim of the present work was to study the diversity of calcareous sponges from French Polynesia. Hence, different French Polynesian archipelagos were surveyed by SCUBA from 3 to 60 m of depth. Identifications were performed using morphological and molecular (ITS and C-LSU) tools. We found a total of nine species of Calcarea, comprising five different genera. Five species are new to science: Clathrina fakaravae sp. nov., Clathrina huahineae sp. nov., Ernstia variabilis sp. nov., Leucascus digitiformis sp. nov., and Leucandra tahuatae sp. nov. With the present work, the number of identified sponges from French Polynesia at a species level increased from 32 to 41. The only calcareous sponge previously known from French Polynesia that was recollected by our group was Leucetta chagosensis. Our results suggest that the Eastern Indo-Pacific Realm shows more affinity with the Central and the Western Indo-Pacific Realms. Four species supported these affinities: Ascandra cf. crewsi, previously known only from Papua New Guinea, Leucascus simplex from South Australia, and Leucetta chagosensis and L. microraphis, both widespread species in the Indo-Pacific. These two Leucetta species, however, most likely represent species complexes. Once again the molecular markers ITS and C-LSU helped in the identification of calcareous sponges, showing how important is an integrative taxonomy. Although our work has increased in 250% (6 spp to 15 spp) the diversity of calcareous sponges in French Polynesia, it is most possible that this number is still underestimated.

Map of the study area. A-French Polynesia. B-Studied islands.

…

Ascandra cf. crewsi (UFRJPOR 8920). A-Specimen in vivo. B-Section. C-Tetractine I. D-Tetractines II. E-Triactines.

…

Clathrina fakaravae sp. nov. (UFRJPOR 6884). A-Fixed specimen. B-Section. C-Triactines I. D-Triactine II.

…

Clathrina huahineae sp. nov. (UFRJPOR 6461). A-Fixed specimen. B-Section. C-Triactine I. D-Triactines II.

…

+19

Ernstia variabilis sp. nov. (UFRJPOR 8963). A-Specimen in situ (UFRJPOR 8918). B-Fragment fixed in ethanol (arrow pointing to the osculum). C-Skeleton of the osculum. D-Skeleton of the anastomosed tubes. E-Triactine I. F-Triactine II. G-Tetractine I. H-Tetractine II. I-Apical actine of a tetractine. Ernstia variabilis sp. nov. has spicules thicker than those of E. citrea [Holotype-Triactine: 81.3 (4.3)/ 10.4 (0.7), Tetractine: 82.4 (6.2)/ 10.4 (1.1)] (to compare with Table 5). Ernstia pyrum has a little thicker spicules [Holotype-Triactine-surface and choanosome: 74.8 (14.4)/ 6.9, Triactine-atrial membrane: 83.7 (22.1)/ 7.9, Tri-

…

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ZOOTAXA

ISSN 1175-5326 (print edition)

ISSN 1175-5334 (online edition)

Accepted by J. Hooper: 24 Jan. 2020; published: 6 Mar. 2020 261

Zootaxa 4748 (2): 261–295

https://www.mapress.com/j/zt/

https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4748.2.3

http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:661CD94A-130B-4BD8-B201-28B079815618

Calcareous sponges from the French Polynesia (Porifera: Calcarea)

MICHELLE KLAUTAU1,5, MATHEUS VIEIRA LOPES1, BRUNA GUARABYRA1, ERIC FOLCHER2,

MERRICK EKINS3 & CÉCILE DEBITUS4

1Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Instituto de Biologia, Departamento de Zoologia, Av. Carlos Chagas Filho, 373, CEP 21941-

902, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.

2IRD, centre de Nouméa, SEOH, BPA5, 98713 Nouméa cedex, New Caledonia

3Queensland museum, PO Box 3300, South Brisbane BC, Queensland 4101, Australia

4IRD-CNRS-UBO-IFREMER, UMR6539 LEMAR, IUEM, rue Dumont d’Urville, F29280 Plouzané, France

5Corresponding author. E-mail: mklautau@gmail.com

Abstract

Although the French Polynesian reefs are among the most well studied reefs of the world, sponges are still poorly known,

with only 199 species or OTUs of sponges having been described from French Polynesia, 167 at an OTU level and

32 at a species level. From those 199 species, just five are calcareous sponges. As it is possible that this number is

underestimated, the aim of the present work was to study the diversity of calcareous sponges from French Polynesia.

Hence, different French Polynesian archipelagos were surveyed by SCUBA from 3 to 60 m of depth. Identifications were

performed using morphological and molecular (ITS and C-LSU) tools. We found a total of nine species of Calcarea,

comprising five different genera. Five species are new to science: Clathrina fakaravae sp. nov., Clathrina huahineae sp.

nov., Ernstia variabilis sp. nov., Leucascus digitiformis sp. nov., and Leucandra tahuatae sp. nov. With the present work,

the number of identified sponges from French Polynesia at a species level increased from 32 to 41. The only calcareous

sponge previously known from French Polynesia that was recollected by our group was Leucetta chagosensis. Our results

suggest that the Eastern Indo-Pacific Realm shows more affinity with the Central and the Western Indo-Pacific Realms.

Four species supported these affinities: Ascandra cf. crewsi, previously known only from Papua New Guinea, Leucascus

simplex from South Australia, and Leucetta chagosensis and L. microraphis, both widespread species in the Indo-Pacific.

These two Leucetta species, however, most likely represent species complexes. Once again the molecular markers ITS and

C-LSU helped in the identification of calcareous sponges, showing how important is an integrative taxonomy. Although

our work has increased in 250% (6 spp to 15 spp) the diversity of calcareous sponges in French Polynesia, it is most

possible that this number is still underestimated.

Key words: biodiversity, Clathrina fakaravae sp. nov., Clathrina huahineae sp. nov., Ernstia variabilis sp. nov.,

Leucascus digitiformis sp. nov., Leucandra tahuatae sp. nov., ITS, C-LSU

Introduction

French Polynesia is a group of 118 islands and several islets and motus around atolls in the Pacific Ocean, occupy-

ing a marine area of 2,500 km2. The islands are grouped in six archipelagos: Marquesas Islands, Society Islands,

Tuamotu Archipelago, Gambier Islands, and Austral Islands.These archipelagos are part of two provinces of the

Eastern Indo-Pacific Realm, the Southeast Polynesia Province and the Marquesas Province.

The French Polynesia reefs are among the most well studied reefs of the world (Salvat et al. 2008), nonethe-

less, sponges are still poorly known (Kelly-Borges & Valentine 1995; Hall et al. 2013). Currently, only 26 species

or OTUs of sponges are known from French Polynesia, five of them being calcareous sponges, i.e., sponges whose

skeleton has calcium carbonate spicules: Lelapiella sphaerulifera Vacelet, 1977, Lepidoleucon inflatum Vacelet,

1967, Plectroninia radiata Vacelet, 1967, and Murrayona phanolepis Kirkpatrick, 1910 from Moorea (Society Is-

lands Archipelago) and Takapoto (Tuamotu Archipelago) (Vacelet 1977), and Leucetta cf. chagosensis Dendy, 1913

from Moorea (Society Islands Archipelago) (Wörheide et al. 2002; Hall et al. 2013) and Rangiroa (Tuamotu Archi-

pelago) (Wörheide et al. 2002). It is possible that this number is underestimated, as no expeditions were dedicated

KLAUTAU ET AL.

to study calcareous sponges before. Therefore, the aim of the present work was to study the diversity of calcareous

sponges from French Polynesia.

Materials and methods

Specimens collection

In the present study, calcareous sponges collected during the surveys of the different French Polynesian archi-

pelagos: Society Islands (Mehetia, Tahiti, Moorea, Tetiaroa, Huahine, Raiatea and Bora-Bora), Marquesas Islands

(Nuku Hiva, Ua Pou, Ua Huka, Tahuata, Hiva Oa, Fatu Hiva), Tuamotu-Gambier Islands (Anuanuraro, Hereher-

etue, Tematangi, Tureia, Nukutavake, Tureia, Hao, Amanu, Marokau, Raroia, Makemo, Fakarava, Toau, Takaroa,

Rangiroa, Tikehau, Makatea), and Austral Islands (Marotiri, Rapa, Raivavae, Tubuai, Rurutu, Rimatara and Maria

Islands) (Debitus, 2009, 2011, 2013a, b) (Fig 1). The collections were performed by SCUBA from 3 to 60 m of

depth. When possible, the sponges were photographed in situ and then fixed and preserved in ethanol 93%. All the

specimens are deposited at the Museum National d’Histoire naturelle (Paris).

FIGURE 1. Map of the study area. A—French Polynesia. B—Studied islands.

Morphological analysis

The sponges were analysed under a stereomicroscope and slides to analyse skeletal organisation and spicules fol-

lowed standard procedures (Wörheide & Hooper 1999; Klautau & Valentine 2003). Spicule measurements were

taken with an ocular micrometer and are presented in tabular form, featuring length and width (minimum [min],

mean, standard deviation [SD] and maximum [max]). We measured a total of 20 spicules of each category, always

searching for the apparent smallest and the biggest spicules and measuring randomly 18 spicules.

Skeleton and spicule photographs were taken with a digital Canon camera coupled to a Zeiss Axioscop mi-

croscope. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) micrographs were taken at the Biology Institute of the UFRJ on a

JSM-6510 SEM equipment. Spicule preparations for SEM followed Azevedo et al. (2015).

Molecular analysis

The genomic DNA was extracted by the guanidine/phenol-chloroform method (Sambrook, Fritsch & Maniatis 1989)

or with a QIAamp DNA MiniKit (Qiagen) and stored at –20°C until amplification. For Calcinea, primers situated

in the adjacent 18S and 28S regions were used to amplify and sequence the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region,

containing ITS1, the 5.8S rDNA and ITS2. The primers used were: fwd: 5’-TCATTTAGAGGAAGTAAAAGTCG-

3’ and rv: 5’-GTTAGTTTCTTTTCCTCCGCTT-3’ (Lôbo-Hajdu et al. 2004). For Calcaronea, we amplified the C-

LSU region (Voigt & Wörheide 2016), using the primers fwd: 5′-GAAAAGCACTTTGAAAAGAGA-3′ (Voigt &

Wörheide 2016) and rv: 5′-TCCGTGTTTCAAGACGGG-3′ (Chombard, Boury-Esnault & Tillier 1998).

The PCR mix included 1X buffer (5X GoTaq Green Reaction Buffer Flexi, PROMEGA), 0.2 mM dNTP, 0.5

μg/μL bovine serum albumin (BSA), 2.5 mM MgCl2, 0.33 μM of each primer, one unit of Taq DNA polymerase

(Fermentas or PROMEGA) and 1 μL of DNA in a final volume of 15 μL. The PCR amplification consisted of one

cycle of 4 min at 94 °C, 35 cycles of 1 min at 92 °C, 1 min at 48° or 50 °C and 1 min at 72 °C, followed by a final

cycle of 6 min at 72 °C. Forward and reverse strands were sequenced in an ABI 3500 (Applied Biosystems) at the

Biology Institute of the Universidade Federal do Riode Janeiro (UFRJ). All the sequences obtained were analysed

and edited in the program GeneStudio and BLAST searches (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/blast/) were performed

to confirm their biological source. Sequences retrieved from the Genbank database were also used and are listed in

Table 1 with those generated in this study.

Sequences were aligned through the MAFFT v.7 online platform (Katoh & Standley 2013) with the strategy

Q-INS-i (Katoh & Toh 2008), taking into consideration the secondary structure of ribosomal DNA. For the other

parameters we chose the default option. The final alignment of the ITS sequences was 1230 bp, including gaps. A

total of 480 conserved sites, 571 variable sites, and 138 singletons were retrieved. For the C-LSU of Calcinea, the

final alignment presented 427 bp, including gaps, and we retrived 287 conserved sites, 139 variable sites, and 29

singletons. The alignment of the C-LSU of Calcaronea had 404 bp, including gaps. A total of 271 conserved sites,

129 variable sites, and 31 singletons were retrieved. When a sequence from GenBank was longer than the final

alignments size mentioned above, it was shortened.

The nucleotide substitution model that best fit each alignment was indicated by the Bayesian Information Cri-

terion in MEGA 6 (Nei & Kumar 2000; Tamura et al. 2013): GTR + G + I for Calcinea (ITS), T92 + G for Calcinea

(LSU), and TN93 + G for Calcaronea. A Maximum Likelihood (ML) tree was built in MEGA 6 using an initial NJ

tree (BIONJ) and 1000 pseudo-replicates bootstrap. Bayesian analises were performed in MrBayes 3.1.2. (Huelsen-

beck & Ronquist 2001; Ronquist & Huelsenbeck 2003) under 106 generations and a 25% burn in, resulting in a

consensus tree of majority. The posterior probability values are shown in the ML tree.

The trees of Calcinea were midpoint-rooted, because the only apropriate outgroup was Calcaronea and calcaro-

nean sequences do not align properly with Calcinea. For the Calcaronea tree, as we had only a sequence of Leucan-

dra in our ingroup, we could use Leucosolenia to root the tree.

In order to estimate the genetic intraspecific and interspecific variability, we calculated the uncorrected p-dis-

tance in MEGA 6.

TABLE 1. Specimens included in the phylogenetic analyses. (*) DNA sequences generated in the present work. H =

holotype, P = paratype.

Species Locality Voucher Number GenBank

accession

number

(ITS)

GenBank

accession

number

(C-LSU)

Subclass Calcinea

Ascoleucetta compressa Australia UFRJPOR 7109 - MG595265

Clathrina antofagastensis Peru MNRJ 13674 KF002723 -

Clathrina aphrodita Peru MNRJ 12994 KC985138 -

Clathrina aurea Brazil MNRJ 8998 HQ588968 -

Clathrina blanca Adriatic PMR 14307 KC479087 -

Clathrina clathrus Mediterranean UFRJPOR 6315 HQ588974 -

Clathrina conifera Brazil MNRJ 8991 HQ588959 -

Clathrina coriacea Norway UFRJPOR 6330 HQ588986 -

Clathrina curacaoensis Curaçao UFRJPOR6734 MF472607 MF472607

Clathrina cylindractina Brazil UFRJPOR 5206 HQ588979 -

Clathrina fjordica Chile MNRJ 8143 HQ588984 -

Clathrina hispanica Mediterranean UFRJPOR 6305 KC843432 -

Clathrina huahineae sp. nov. French Polynesia UFRJPOR 1600 KC843438 -

Clathrina huahineae sp. nov. French Polynesia UFRJPOR 6461 (H) KC843439 -

......continued on the next page

KLAUTAU ET AL.

TABLE 1. (Continued)

Species Locality Voucher Number GenBank

accession

number

(ITS)

GenBank

accession

number

(C-LSU)

Clathrina insularis Brazil UFRJPOR 6536 (P) KX548922 -

Clathrina lacunosa Norway UFRJPOR 6334 HQ588991 -

Clathrina lutea Brazil UFRJPOR 5172 (H) HQ588961 -

Clathrina luteoculcitella Australia QMG 313684 HQ588989 -

Clathrina mutabilis Brazil UFRJPOR 6525 MN422244 -

Clathrina mutabilis Brazil UFRJPOR 6528 (P) KX548926 -

Clathrina mutabilis Brazil UFRJPOR 6539 MN422245 -

Clathrina mutabilis Caribbean UFRJPOR 6741 KC843437 -

Clathrina nuroensis Peru MNRJ 13032 KC985136 -

Clathrina peruana Peru MNRJ 12839 KC985135 -

Clathrina primordialis Adriatic PMR 14305 KC479086 -

Clathrina ramosa Chile MNRJ 10313 HQ588990 -

Clathrina rotundata Red Sea SMF 11636 KY711435 -

Clathrina rowi Red Sea SMF 11629 KY366402 -

Clathrina rubra Adriatic PMR 14306 KC479088 -

Clathrina sinusarabica Red Sea GW 3143 KY366405 KY366405

Clathrina smaragda Florida UFRJPOR 8359 (H) MG017974 -

Clathrina wistariensis Australia QMG 313663 HQ588987 -

Ernstia adunca Martinique UFRJPOR 7672 - MG6446123

Ernstia arabica Red Sea SNSB BSPG GW1130 - KY366358

Ernstia arabica Red Sea SMF11627 KY366406 -

Ernstia citrea Brazil UFRJPOR 6621 (H) KC843433 -

Ernstia citrea Brazil UFRJPOR 6649 -

Ernstia klautauae Indonesia RMNHPOR 9341 (H) - MF686062

Ernstia klautauae Indonesia ZMAPOR 08390 (P) KC843451 -

Ernstia naturalis Indonesia RMNHPOR 11719 - MF872758

Ernstia aff. naturalis Mayotte RMNHPOR 8444 - MF872757

Ernstia pyrum Aquarium in Russia ZIN 11879 (H) MK617946 -

Ernstia rocasensis Brazil UFRJPOR 6664 KX548928 -

Ernstia solaris Brazil UFRJPOR 6538 KX548915 -

Ernstia tetractina Brazil UFRJPOR 5183 HQ589000 HQ589021

Ernstia variabilis sp. nov.*French Polynesia UFRJPOR 8962 MN422247 MN422250

Ernstia variabilis sp. nov.*French Polynesia UFRJPOR 8963 (H) MN422248 MN422251

Ernstia variabilis sp. nov.*French Polynesia UFRJPOR 8964 MN422249 MN422252

Leucascus flavus Indonesia RMNHPOR 2279 - MF686080

Leucascus simplex* French Polynesia UFRJPOR 6451 - MN422254

Leucascus simplex* French Polynesia UFRJPOR 6456 - MN422255

Leucascus sp. Australia QM G316051 - JQ272305

Leucetta antarctica Antarctic MNRJ 13798 KC849700 -

Leucetta avocado Mauritius NCI 108 - KC869542

Leucetta chagosensis French Polynesia BMOO16210 KC843454 -

......continued on the next page

TABLE 1. (Continued)

Species Locality Voucher Number GenBank

accession

number

(ITS)

GenBank

accession

number

(C-LSU)

Leucetta chagosensis Australia - - AY563543

Leucetta chagosensis Australia QM G316279 - JQ272296

Leucetta chagosensis

(ex-Ascoleucetta sagittata)

Indonesia ZMAPOR 13283 - MF686085

Leucetta chagosensis Rodrigues RMNHPOR 11657_1 - MF872790

Leucetta chagosensis Rodrigues RMNHPOR 11658 - MF872791

Leucetta chagosensis*French Polynesia UFRJPOR 6455 - MN422257

Leucetta delicata Antarctic SMF 11868 KC874654 -

Leucetta floridana Brazil UFRJPOR 4703 EU781979 -

Leucetta floridana Panama P10x2 - KC869538

Leucetta foliata Australia UFRJPOR 7149 - KX499451

Leucetta giribeti Antarctic NHMUK:2017.1.19.1 KY670632 KY670632

Leucetta microraphis Australia QM G313659 AF479061 JQ272297

Leucetta microraphis* French Polynesia UFRJPOR 6450 MN422246 MN422256

Leucetta microraphis* French Polynesia UFRJPOR 6457 - MN422258

Leucetta microraphis* French Polynesia UFRJPOR 6459 - MN422259

Leucetta microraphis

(ex-Leucetta sp.)

Australia QM G313691 - JQ272298

Leucetta microraphis Mayotte RMNHPOR 8318 - MF872796

Leucetta microraphis Mayotte RMNHPOR 8341 - MF872795

Leucetta microraphis Madagascar RMNHPOR 8717 - MF872797

Leucetta microraphis Indonesia RMNHPOR 6610 - MF686087

Leucetta microraphis Red Sea SNSBBSPG GW 3163 KY366374

Leucetta microraphis ? QM G315140 AJ633871 -

Leucetta microraphis Red Sea SNSBBSPG GW 3164 KY36640 KY366375

Leucetta microraphis Red Sea SNSBBSPG GW 3196 KY366403 -

Leucetta potiguar Brazil MNRJ 8474 EU781981

Leucetta purpurea Australia UFRJPOR 7255 - KX499450

Leucetta cf. pyriformis Antarctic MNRJ 13843 KC843457 -

Leucetta sulcata Rodrigues RMNH11639_1 - MF872798

Leucetta sulcata Rodrigues RMNH11639_2 - MF872799

Leucetta sulcata Rodrigues RMNH11643 - MF872800

Leucetta sulcata Rodrigues RMNH11645 - MF872801

Leucetta villosa Maldives QM G313662 - JQ272295

Leucettusa haeckeliana Tasmania QM G323232 - JQ272300

Leucettusa imperfecta Tasmania QM G323283 - JQ272299

Leucettusa nuda Chile MNRJ 10804 KC843453 -

Leucettusa sp. New Zealand OCDN6676-Q KC843458 -

Pericharax carteri Australia QM G316099 AJ633882 -

Pericharax crypta Australia UFRJPOR 7129 - KX499452

Pericharax orientalis Australia NCI 400 - KC869505

......continued on the next page

KLAUTAU ET AL.

TABLE 1. (Continued)

Species Locality Voucher Number GenBank

accession

number

(ITS)

GenBank

accession

number

(C-LSU)

Pericharax vallii Australia UFRJPOR 7126 - KX499449

Subclass Calcaronea

Breitfussia schulzei West Greenland FB61 - MH385228

Grantia compressa Roscoff, France (C38) SA80 - MH385242

Leucandra ananas Norway, Trondheimsfjord,

2016032 No.16

SA136 - MH385249

Leucandra aspera Marseille, France (C62bis) ? - AY563535

Leucandra falakra Adriatic Sea PMR 13748 - KT447560

Leucandra cf. gausapata Antarctic HT15 - MH385252

Leucandra mozambiquensis Mozambique ZMA.POR.22408 - MF872766

Leucandra nicolae Australia QM G313672 (H) - JQ272268

Leucandra penicillata West Greenland FB35 - MH385256

Leucandra pilula Seychelles ZMA.POR.10528 (H) - MF872767

Leucandra sp. Pacific, Coral Sea, Osprey Reef QM G316285 - JQ272265

Leucandra tahuatae sp. nov.*French Polynesia UFRJPOR 6454 - MN422253

Leucandrilla sp. Galapagos RMNH.POR.11520 - MF872768

Leucilla antillana Curaçao UFRJPOR 6768 (H) - MF472615

Leucilla micropilosa Curaçao UFRJPOR 6755 (H) - MF472621

Leucosolenia botryoides ? SA60 - MH385257

Leucosolenia complicata ? AA09 - MH385268

Leucosolenia cf. corallorrhiza ? FB14 - MH385258

Leucosolenia cf. variabilis ? FB12 - MH385263

Leucosolenia sp. 1 ? FB81 - MH385272

Paraleucilla dalmatica Adriatic Sea PMR 13747 - KT447565

Paraleucilla erpenbecki Mozambique ZMA.POR.22409C (P) - MF872728

Paraleucilla magna South coast of Portugal PT06 - MH385279

Paraleucilla sp.1 South Atlantic, St. Helena SA83 - MH385283

Paraleucilla sp.2 South Atlantic, St. Helena SA85 - MH385284

Sycon caminatum MAD.050202. Madeira Isl.

Madeira

PT02 - MH385301

Sycon villosum ZMBN 90325, Norway,

Moøyastaken, 26.07.07

SA24 - MH385314

Ute glabra Portugal PT16 - MH385315

Ute gladiata Norway, Korsfjord HT47 - MH385316

Results

Systematic Index

Class CALCAREA Bowerbank, 1862

Subclass CALCINEA Bidder, 1898

Order CLATHRINIDA Hartman, 1958

Family LEUCALTIDAE Dendy & Row, 1913

Genus Ascandra Haeckel, 1872

Ascandra cf. crewsi Van Soest & De Voogd, 2015

Family CLATHRINIDAE Minchin, 1900

Genus Clathrina Gray, 1867 sensu Klautau, Azevedo, Cóndor-Luján, Rapp, Collins & Russo, 2013

Clathrina fakaravae sp. nov.

Clathrina huahineae sp. nov.

Genus Ernstia Klautau, Azevedo, Cóndor-Luján, Rapp, Collins & Russo, 2013

Ernstia variabilis sp. nov.

Family LEUCASCIDAE Dendy, 1892

Genus Leucascus Dendy, 1892

Leucascus digitiformis sp. nov.

Leucascus simplex Dendy, 1892

Family LEUCETTIDAE De Laubenfels, 1936

Genus Leucetta Haeckel, 1872

Leucetta chagosensis Dendy, 1913

Leucetta microraphis Haeckel, 1872

Subclass CALCARONEA Bidder, 1898

Order LEUCOSOLENIDA Hartman, 1958

Family GRANTIIDAE Dendy, 1892

Genus Leucandra Haeckel, 1872

Leucandra tahuatae sp. nov.

Morphological taxonomy

Ascandra cf. crewsi Van Soest & De Voogd, 2015

(Fig 2; Table 2)

Synonym. Ascandra crewsi, Van Soest & De Voogd 2015: 36.

Material examined: UFRJPOR 6462 = MNHN-IP-2018-33—Tairineneva, Raiatea, Society Islands, station SR02

(16° 45.326’ S–151° 29.827’ W), depth: 15 m, coll. C. Debitus, 12/VIII/2009, P53. UFRJPOR 6463 = MNHN-

IP-2018-34, UFRJPOR 6464 = MNHN-IP-2018-35—Tahiti, Society Islands, station ST22 (17° 32.485’ S–149°

35.205’ W), depth: 14 m, coll. C. Debitus, 29/V/2009, P23. UFRJPOR 8916 = MNHN-IP-2018-57—Tahiti, Soci-

ety Islands, station ST27 (17°46.642’ S–149°24.236’ W), coll. S. Petek, 13/IV/2013, depth: 30 m, P485. UFRJPOR

8917 = MNHN-IP-2018-58—Tahiti, Society Islands, station ST29 (17°53.052’ S–149°11.411’ W), coll. S. Petek,

14/IV/2013, depth: 20 m, P507. UFRJPOR 8920 = MNHN-IP-2018-61—Tahiti, Society Islands, station ST59

(17°47.343’S–149°27.229’W), coll. C. Debitus, 13/IV/2013, depth: 15 m.

Colour. White alive and white or light brown in ethanol (Fig 2A).

Morphology and anatomy. Cormus delicate, formed by large, irregular, loosely anastomosed and ramified

tubes with one or several oscula at the end of larger tubes (water-collecting tubes; Fig 2A). Aquiferous system as-

conoid. The skeleton is composed of two size categories of tetractines (Fig 2B), of which the larger is rare, and by

small rare triactines.

Spicules (Table 2)

Tetractines I. Large. Regular (equiangular and equiradiate) or sagittal. Actines are conical with sharp tips (Fig

2C). The sagittal spicules sometimes have curved paired actines. The apical actine is cylindrical, very long, sharp,

smooth and frequently curved but straight apical actines are also present (Fig 2C). Size: 162.0–218.7/ 16.2–27.0 µm

(basal), 75.0–150.0/ 5.0–15.0 µm (apical).

Tetractines II. Small. Regular (equiangular and equiradiate) or sagittal. They are very similar to Tetractines I,

but a little smaller and with thinner actines (Fig 2 D). Size: 110.7–178.2/ 10.8–16.2 µm (basal), 17.5–234.9/ 1.3–9.5

µm (apical).

KLAUTAU ET AL.

Triactines. Rare, small. Regular (equiangular and equiradiate) or sagittal. Actines are conical with sharp tips

(Fig 2E). The sagittal spicules sometimes have curved paired actines. Size: 77.5–137.5/ 8.8–10.0 µm.

Ecology. This sponge was found in holes or below dead corals, in a slightly muddy environment.

Geographical distribution. Papua New Guinea (type locality; Van Soest & De Voogd 2015) and Society Is-

lands (Raiatea and Tahiti—present work).

FIGURE 2. Ascandra cf. crewsi (UFRJPOR 8920). A—Specimen in vivo. B—Section. C—Tetractine I. D—Tetractines II.

E—Triactines.

Remarks. Eleven species of Ascandra are currently known: Ascandra falcata Haeckel, 1872 from Lesina,

Adriatic Sea (the type species of the genus); A. ascandroides (Borojević, 1971) from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; A.

atlantica (Thacker, 1908) from Cape Verde Islands; A. biscayae (Borojević & Boury-Esnault, 1987) from Bay

of Biscay; A. brandtae (Rapp, Göcke, Tendal & Janussen, 2013) from the Weddell Sea, Antarctica; A. contorta

(Bowerbank, 1866) from the Mediterranean Sea; A. corallicola (Rapp, 2006) Trondheimsfjord, Norway; A. crewsi

Van Soest & De Voogd, 2015 from Wahoo, Papua New Guinea; A. densa Haeckel, 1872 from South Australia; A.

kakaban Van Soest & De Voogd, 2015 from Kalimantan, Indonesia; and A. minchini Borojević, 1966 from the

Mediterranean Sea. Considering cormus and skeleton composition (triactines and two size categories of tetrac-

tines), the specimens from the French Polynesia are more similar to A. crewsi and A. kakaban. The latter, however,

has the same proportion of triactines and tetractines, while A. crewsi has very few triactines, like our specimens.

Therefore, although the spicules of the specimens from French Polynesia are a little larger and have tetractines

with actines more conical than those of A. crewsi [A. crewsi—Triactines: 140.0˗150.0/ 10.0˗12.0 µm; Tetractines

I: 159.0˗206.4˗246.0/ 15.0˗18.8˗21.0 µm (basal actines), 181.0˗226.3˗279.0/ 13.0˗15.3˗17.0 µm (apical actine);

Triactines II: 54.0˗90.2˗117.0/ 7.0˗7.3˗8.0 µm (basal actines), 62.0˗95.8˗114.0/ 2.5˗3.1˗3.5 µm (apical actine)], we

think they can be conspecific.

TABLE 2. Spicule measurements of Ascandra cf. crewsi from French Polynesia.

Spicule Actine Length (µm) Width (µm) N

min mean sd max min mean sd max

UFRJPOR 6463

Triactine Basal 77.5 112.0 20.1 137.5 8.8 9.8 0.5 10.0 11

Tetractine I Basal 162.0 180.8 9.9 205.2 18.9 21.4 2.2 24.3 20

Apical 75.0 112.0 23.5 150.0 7.5 12.1 2.2 15.0 10

Tetractine II Basal 110.7 139.7 14.0 159.3 10.8 14.0 1.3 16.2 20

Apical 116.1 160.5 33.3 234.9 8.1 8.3 0.5 9.5 11

UFRJPOR 8920

Triactine Basal 110.0 132.9 12.5 145.0 9.0 9.9 0.4 10.0 07

Tetractine I Basal 180.9 200.4 11.8 218.7 16.2 20.6 3.4 27.0 13

Apical 95.0 109.0 16.6 137.5 5.0 8.5 2.9 12.5 05

Tetractine II Basal 121.5 150.8 16.7 178.2 10.8 13.4 0.6 13.5 20

Apical 17.5 53.1 11.4 70.0 1.3 4.6 1.1 7.5 21

Clathrina fakaravae sp. nov.

(Fig 3, Table 3)

Etymology. From the type locality (Fakarava)

Type locality. Maruka (Fakarava). Tuheiava (Tikehau). Avatoru (Rangiroa) Tuamotu Islands. French Polynesia.

Material examined. Holotype: UFRJPOR 6884 = MNHN-IP-2018-49—Rangiroa, Tuamotu Islands, station

TRAN05 (14°56.481’ S–147°51.752’ W), depth: 24 m, coll. E. Folcher, 23/V/2011, P322. Paratype: UFRJPOR

6873 = MNHN-IP-2018-38—Fakarava, Tuamotu Islands, Station TFAK08 (16°08.230’ S–145°49.323’ W), depth:

15 m, coll. A. Renaud, 19/V/2011, P305˗TFAK08. Other material: UFRJPOR 6875 = MNHN-IP-2018-40—Tike-

hau, Tuamotu Islands, station TTIK03 (14°59.629’ S–148°16.922’ W), depth: 40 m, coll. E. Folcher, 29/V/2011,

P305˗TTIK03.

Diagnosis. White Clathrina with large and loosely anastomosed tubes, no water-collecting tubes and three

categories of triactines: conical, slightly conical and cylindrical.

Colour. White alive and beige to light yellow in ethanol (Fig 3A).

Morphology and anatomy. The cormus of this species is formed by large, irregular and loosely anastomosed

tubes but in some regions the anastomosis is very tight, giving an appearance of a continuous membrane. Water-

collecting tubes were not observed. Aquiferous system asconoid. The skeleton is composed of two categories of

triactines, one cylindrical to slightly conical (the most abundant) and the other conical (Fig 3B).

KLAUTAU ET AL.

Spicules (Table 3)

Triactines I. Regular (equiangular and equiradiate). Actines are cylindrical to slightly conical with sharp tips

(Fig 3E). Size: 95.7/ 7.2 µm.

Triactines II. Regular (equiangular and equiradiate). These spicules are larger. Actines are conical with sharp

tips (Fig 3D). Size: 159.8/ 12.3 µm.

Geographical distribution. Rangiroa, Tuamotu Islands; Fakarava, Tuamotu Islands; Tikehau, Tuamotu Is-

lands.

Remarks. Although the tight anastomosis of the tubes in some parts of the cormus gives the impression of a

begining of a continuous membrane formation, there is no cavity (pseudoatrium), therefore, it could not be an As-

caltis. As it seems to us that there is no true continuous membrane, we consider we have a true Clathrina, perhaps

with a beginning of cortex formation (cortical membrane). Unfortunately, for this species we were not able to get

DNA sequence.

Clathrina fakaravae sp. nov. has two categories of triactines (cylindrical to slightly conical and conical) and

white cormus formed by irregular and loosely anastomosed tubes without water-collecting tubes, hence, we com-

pared it with: C. rotundata Voigt et al., 2017 and C. zelinhae Azevedo et al., 2017. Clathrina rotundata, however,

has also parasagittal triactines and actines with rounded tips, while the new species has always regular spicules with

sharp tips. Clathrina zelinhae has tightly anastomosed tubes and the difference between the size of its conical and

cylindrical spicules is much larger than in C. fakaravae sp. nov. [C. fakaravae sp. nov.—Triactines with cylindri-

cal actines: 95.7 (±7.2)/ 7.2 (±1.5) µm; Triactines with conical actines: 159.8 (±13.2)/ 12.3 (±1.4) µm; C. zelinhae

(holotype)—Triactines with cylindrical actines: 95.8 (±5.4)/ 3.9 (±1.0) µm; Triactines with conical actines: 271.1

(±13.2)/ 20.8 (±2.2) µm]. Therefore, our specimens constitute a new species for science.

FIGURE 3. Clathrina fakaravae sp. nov. (UFRJPOR 6884). A—Fixed specimen. B—Section. C—Triactines I. D—Triactine

II.

TABLE 3. Spicule measurements of the holotype of C. fakaravae sp. nov. (UFRJPOR 6884).

Spicule Length (µm) Width (µm) N

min mean sd max min mean sd max

Triactine I 43.2 95.7 7.2 135.0 5.4 7.2 1.5 10.8 30

Triactine II 137.7 159.8 13.2 180.9 10.8 12.3 1.4 13.5 20

Clathrina huahineae sp. nov.

(Fig 4; Table 4)

Synonym. Clathrina sp. nov. 5, Klautau et al. 2013: 449.

Etymology. From the type locality (Huahine Island).

Type locality. Fare. Huahine Island, Society Islands, French Polynesia.

Material examined. Holotype: UFRJPOR 6461 = MNHN-IP-2018-32—Huahine Island, Society Islands, Sta-

tion SH02 (16° 42.596’ S–151° 02.640’ W), depth: 14 m, coll. C. Debitus, 20/VIII/2009, P99. Teavonae (Takaroa).

Avatoru (Rangiroa). Mehetia. French Polynesia. Paratype: UFRJPOR 6886 = MNHN-IP-2018-51—Mehetia,

Society Islands, Station SME02 (17°53.110’ S–148°04.454’ W), depth: 16 m, coll. E. Folcher, 26/IV/2011, P228–

SME02. Other material: UFRJPOR 6879 = MNHN-IP-2018-44—Takaroa, Tuamotu Islands, Station TTAK01

(14°27.717’ S–145°02.356’ W), depth: 12 m, coll. D. Fleurisson, 14/V/2011, P228-TTAK01. UFRJPOR 6880 =

MNHN-IP-2018-45—Rangiroa, Tuamotu Islands, Station TRAN07 (14°56.215’ S–147°42.024’ W), depth: 30 m,

coll. A. Renaud, 24/V/2011, P228-TRAN07. UFRJPOR 8954 = MNHN-IP-2018-63—Raroia, Tuamotu Islands,

Station TRAR15 (16°09.586’ S 142°31.998’ W), depth: 15 m, coll. M. Dumas, 07/XI/2018, P667-TRAR15. UFR-

JPOR 8957 = MNHN-IP-2018-66—Makemo, Tuamotu Islands, Station TMAK09 (16°38.948’ S–143°33.333’ W),

depth: 23 m, coll. S. Petek, 08/XI/2018, P671-TMAK09.

Diagnosis. Yellow Clathrina with large and loosely anastomosed tubes, water-collecting tubes and triactines

with very thin, cylindrical actines and rounded to blunt tips.

Colour. Yellow alive and beige in ethanol (Fig 4A).

Morphology and anatomy. The cormus of this species is massive but delicate, formed by large, irregular, and

loosely anastomosed tubes. Large water-collecting tubes are present. Aquiferous system asconoid. The skeleton is

composed of two size categories of triactines (Fig B). The triactines I are smaller (Fig 4C) and the triactines II are

larger and more abundant (Fig 4D).

Spicules (Table 4)

Triactines I. Regular (equiangular and equiradiate). Actines are conical, with sharp tips (Fig 4C). Size: 65/ 7.1

µm.

Triactines II. Regular (equiangular and equiradiate), subregular or parasagittal. Actines are cylindrical, very

thin, with rounded to blunt tips (Fig 4D). The spicules with rounded tips seem to be larger. Frequently actines are

undulated. Size: 142.4/ 7.5 µm.

Geographical distribution. Huahine Island, Society Islands; Teavonae (Takaroa); Avatoru (Rangiroa); Mehe-

tia; Takaroa, Tuamotu Islands; Rangiroa, Tuamotu Islands.

Remarks. According to our molecular analysis, Clathrina huahineae sp. nov. is sister species of the Tropical

Western Atlantic species C. mutabilis Azevedo et al., 2017. They are morphologically very similar. Both are yel-

low and formed by large, loose and irregularly anastomosed tubes and present water-collecting tubes. Besides, they

have two kinds of spicules, a regular small triactine with conical actines and sharp tips, which is less abundant, and

an abundant regular, subregular or parasagittal large triactine with cylindrical actines. Their only morphological

differences are the post-fixation colour, which is white in C. mutabilis and beige in C. huahineae sp. nov., and the

tip of the triactines II, which are blunt to rounded in the new species and blunt to sharp in C. mutabilis. We also

found a slight difference in the size of the spicules, thicker in C. mutabilis (Holotype, UFRJPOR 6526—Triactine

I: 56.7–69.8–91.8/ 8.1–8.4–9.5 µm; Triactine II: 94.5–121.7–148.5/ 6.8–8.1–9.5 µm).

The other species of Clathrina morphologically similar to the new species are C. beckingae Van Soest & De

Voogd, 2015 and C. purpurea Van Soest & De Voogd, 2015. Unfortunately, they could not be molecularly compared

because there are no ITS sequences available of those species. Both C. beckingae and C. purpurea have cormus

KLAUTAU ET AL.

formed by irregular and loosely anastomosed tubes, water-collecting tubes and triactines with very thin cylindri-

cal actines (6 µm). Those species are from Indonesia and can be differentiated from C. huahineae sp. nov. by the

colour, which is yellow in our species, white in C. beckingae and reddish purple in C. purpurea (Van Soest & De

Voogd 2015). Besides, C. purpurea does not have water-collecting tubes and C. beckingae has smaller spicules

(48.0–84.9–106.0/ 6.0 µm).

FIGURE 4. Clathrina huahineae sp. nov. (UFRJPOR 6461). A—Fixed specimen. B—Section. C—Triactine I. D—Triactines

II.

TABLE 4. Spicule measurements of Clathrina huahineae sp. nov. H = holotype. P = paratype.

Spicule Length (µm) Width (µm) N

min mean sd max min mean sd max

UFRJPOR 6461 (H)

Triactine I 40.0 65.0 16.3 90.0 5.0 7.1 0.8 7.5 20

Triactine II 110.0 142.4 14.9 175.0 7.5 7.5 0.9 7.5 20

UFRJPOR 6886 (P)

Triactine I 25.0 69.9 18.9 95.0 5.0 7.4 0.9 10.0 20

Triactine II 120.0 141.9 12.5 165.0 6.3 7.4 0.5 8.8 20

Ernstia variabilis sp. nov.

(Fig 5, Table 5)

Etymology. From the Latin “variabilis” (varied, changeable), due to its variable spicule shape.

Type locality. Rairoa, Tuamotu Islands, French Polynesia

Material examined. Holotype: UFRJPOR 8963 = MNHN-IP-2018-56—Raroia, Tuamotu Islands, Station

trar08 (16°02.831’ S 142°25.701’ W), depth: 17 m, coll. M. Dumas, 05/XI/2018, P455-TRAR08. Paratype: UFR-

JPOR 8918 = MNHN-IP-2018-59—Raivavae, Australes Islands, Station ARAI07 (23°53.282’ S–147°40.902’ W),

depth: 6 m, coll. C. Debitus, 23/III/2013, P455. Other material. UFRJPOR 8962 = MNHN-IP-2018-71—Ra-

roia, Tuamotu Islands, Station TRAR02 (16°01.99’ S 142°25.565’ W), depth: 20 m, coll. CS. Petek, 04/XI/2018,

P455-TRAR02. UFRJPOR 8964 = MNHN-IP-2018-42—Raroia, Tuamotu Islands, Station trar09 (16°02.074’ S

142°25.701’ W), depth: 15 m, coll. V. Bouvot, 05/XI/2018, P455-TRAR09. UFRJPOR 8965 = MNHN-IP-2018-

52—Raroia, Tuamotu Islands, Station trar12 (16°00.896’ S 142°25.323’ W), depth: 20 m, coll. M. Dumas, 06/

XI/2018, P455-TRAR12.

Diagnosis. Yellow Ernstia with spherical cormus and thin, regular and tightly anastomosed tubes. A single long

osculum atop of and atrial cavity. Skeleton composed of two categories of triactines and tetractines, mainly differentiated

by shape and size. Aquiferous system solenoid.

Colour. Yellow alive and light brown in ethanol (Fig 5A).

Morphology and anatomy. Cormus spherical to subspherical formed by thin, regular and tightly anastomosed

tubes (Figs 5A, B). There is usually one long apical osculum (Fig 5C), with a continuous endopinacoderm lining the

atrial cavity. Aquiferous system solenoid. The skeleton is composed of two categories of triactines, two of tetractines,

and trichoxeas (Fig 5D). The apical actines of the tetractines project into the tubes lumen and atrial cavity. The size

of triactines II and tetractines II is different depending on the regions of the sponge: the spicules in the oscular region

are noticeably larger than the spicules in the other parts of the body. Due to its transitional changes from osculum to

choanosome, we consider it the same variable category. Tetractines occur in higher frequencies than triactines.

Spicules (Table 5)

Triactines I. Regular (equiangular and equiradiate) and smaller than triactines II. This category ressembles a

young spicule on formation, but due to its relatively abundance, we considered it as a category apart. Actines are

conical with sharp tips (Fig 5E). Size: 41.4/ 5.3 µm.

Triactines II. Regular (equiangular and equiradiate) and very abundant. Actines vary highly in shape and size.

Spicules from the oscular region are usually cylindrical, ondulated and larger, with blunt tips. Spicules from choano-

some are slightly conical to conical and straight, with blunt to slightly sharp tips (Fig 5E). Size: 94.3/ 6.9 µm.

Tetractines I. Regular (equiangular and equiradiate) and smaller than tetractines II. This category ressembles

a young spicule on formation, but due to its relatively abundance, we considered it as a category apart. Actines are

conical with sharp tips. The apical actine is cylindrical, the same size of basal actines, sharp, smooth, and frequently

curved (Fig 5G). Size: 43.0/ 5.1 µm (basal actine); 39.1/ 4.1 µm (apical actine).

Tetractines II. Regular (equiangular and equiradiate) and very abundant. Actines vary highly in shape and size.

Spicules from the oscular region are usually cylindrical, ondulated and larger, with blunt tips. Spicules from cho-

anosome are slightly conical to conical and straight, with blunt to slightly sharp tips (Fig 5F). The apical actine is

cylindrical, very long, sharp, smooth, and frequently curved (Fig 5G). Size: 90.6 / 7.0 µm (basal actine); 51.9/ 4.7

µm (apical actine).

Geographical distribution. Raroia, Tuamotu Islands and Raivavae, Australes Islands (present work).

Remarks. Ernstia variabilis sp. nov. formed a very well supported clade (100% bootstrap) with E. pyrum Sana-

myan et al., 2019 and E. citrea Azevedo et al., 2017. The three species are morphologically almost identical, all of

them having a spherical yellow cormus formed by tight and regularly anastomosed tubes, long apical osculum and

solenoid aquiferous system. Although in the original description of E. citrea it was said that this species has asco-

noid aquiferous system, we re-analised it and found the membrane of pinacocytes surrounding the atrium, proving

that its aquiferous system is solenoid, as Sanamyan et al. (2019) had observed for E. pyrum.

We are describing E. variabilis sp. nov. as possessing two categories of triactine and two of tetractines. Re-ana-

lysing E. citrea, we think it has also these categories, though in the original description it was considered as having

only one category of tri- and one of tetractines. The same can be considered for E. pyrum, if we take into account the

size variation of the spicules and look at the original pictures (Sanamyan et al. 2019). Therefore, these three species

can be distinguished only by slight differences in the size of their spicules.

KLAUTAU ET AL.

FIGURE 5. Ernstia variabilis sp. nov. (UFRJPOR 8963). A—Specimen in situ (UFRJPOR 8918). B—Fragment fixed in

ethanol (arrow pointing to the osculum). C—Skeleton of the osculum. D—Skeleton of the anastomosed tubes. E—Triactine I.

F—Triactine II. G—Tetractine I. H—Tetractine II. I—Apical actine of a tetractine.

Ernstia variabilis sp. nov. has spicules thicker than those of E. citrea [Holotype—Triactine: 81.3 (4.3)/ 10.4

(0.7), Tetractine: 82.4 (6.2)/ 10.4 (1.1)] (to compare with Table 5). Ernstia pyrum has a little thicker spicules [Ho-

lotype—Triactine—surface and choanosome: 74.8 (14.4)/ 6.9, Triactine—atrial membrane: 83.7 (22.1)/ 7.9, Tri-

actine—osculum: 103.9 (30.5)/ 6.9 (1.0), Tetractine—surface and choanosome: 73.6 (13.7)/ 6.6, Tetractine—atrial

membrane: 94.1 (24.5)/ 7.4)] (to compare with Table 5). Hence, the three species are almost cryptic, however, we

decided to distinguish them based on the molecular tree (Fig 13). In the tree, although the three species form a very

well supported clade (100% bootstrap), E. citrea and E. variabilis sp. nov. form two well supported clades (99%

and 100% bootstrap, respectively).

As E. variabilis sp. nov. is the third species of the genus with solenoid aquiferous system, we proposed an

emendation to the current diagnosis:

Calcinea in which the cormus comprises a typical clathroid body. A stalk may be present. The skeleton contains

regular (equiangular and equiradiate) and/or sagittal triactines and tetractines. Tetractines are the most abundant

spicules or occur at least in the same proportion as the triactines. Tetractines frequently have very thin (needle-like)

apical actines. Diactines may be added. Asconoid or solenoid aquiferous system (Klautau et al. 2013).

TABLE 5. Spicule measurements of the holotype of Ernstia variabilis sp. nov. (UFRJPOR 8962).

Spicule Actine

Length (µm) Width (µm)

Nmin mean sd max min mean sd max

Triactine I Basal 30.0 41.4 7.8 62.5 3.8 5.3 0.9 7.5 20

Triactine II Basal 75.0 94.3 10.3 112.5 5.0 6.9 0.9 7.5 20

Tetractine I Basal 30.0 43.0 6.7 55.0 3.8 5.1 0.8 7.5 20

Apical 27.5 39.1 7.9 47.5 2.5 4.1 0.9 5.0 20

Tetractine II Basal 70.0 90.6 12.1 117.5 5.0 7.0 0.9 7.5 20

Apical 32.5 51.9 14.1 95.0 3.8 4.7 0.6 5.0 08

Leucascus digitiformis sp. nov.

(Fig 6, Table 6)

Etymology. From the Latim “digitus” (finger), for the finger-shaped cormus of this species.

Type locality. Tekeho (Nuku Hiva), Marquesas Islands. French Polynesia.

Material examined. Holotype: UFRJPOR 6460 = MNHN-IP-2018-31—Nuku Hiva, Marquesas Islands, Sta-

tion MNH04 (08° 57.661’ S–140° 10.149’ W), depth: 16 m, coll. C. Debitus, 30/VIII/2009, P114.

Diagnosis. White Leucascus with digitiform cormus and large oscula. Skeleton composed of tripods, triactines

and tetractines with large spines on the apical actine.

Colour. White alive and in ethanol (Fig 6A).

Morphology and anatomy. Sponge digitiform, massive but delicate (Figs 6A, B). The cormus is formed by

thin, regular and tightly anastomosed tubes forming a continuous delicate cortex (Fig 6C). Each protuberance (digi-

tus) present a terminal osculum surrounded by membrane. Below each osculum there is an atrial cavity supported

by tetractines. Aquiferous system solenoid. The specimen is full of embryos. The skeleton is composed of tripods

and triactines on the cortex (Fig 6C), triactines and tetractines in the choanosome (Fig 6D), and tetractines in the

atrial wall.

Spicules (Table 6)

Tripods. Regular or sagittal. Similar to large triactines. Actines are conical with blunt tips (Fig 6E). Size: 88.0/

9.3 µm.

Triactines. Regular or sagittal. Actines are conical with blunt tips (Fig 6F). Size: 54.7/ 5.3 µm.

Tetractines. Regular or sagittal. Actines are conical with blunt tips (Fig 6G). The apical actine is very long, thick,

conical and sharp, covered by spines (Fig 6H). Size: 57.4/ 5.5 µm (basal actine); 35.4/ 5.0 µm (apical actine).

Geographical distribution. Nuku Hiva, Marquesas Islands (present work).

Remarks. Currently 10 species of Leucascus are recognised: L. simplex Dendy, 1892 (type species of the ge-

nus) from South Australia; L. albus Cavalcanti, Rapp & Klautau, 2013 from southeastern Brazil; L. clavatus Dendy,

1892 from South Australia; L. flavus Cavalcanti, Rapp & Klautau, 2013 from Indonesia; L. leptoraphis (Jenkin,

1908) from Antarctica; L. lobatus Rapp, 2004 from Greenland; L. neocaledonicus Borojević & Klautau, 2000 from

New Caledonia; L. protogenes (Haeckel, 1872) from South Australia; L. roseus Lanna, Rossi, Cavalcanti, Hajdu &

Klautau, 2007 from southeastern Brazil; and L. schleyeri Van Soest & De Voogd, 2018 from South Africa.

KLAUTAU ET AL.

FIGURE 6. Leucascus digitiformis sp. nov. (UFRJPOR 6460). A—Specimen in situ. B—Fixed specimen. C—Tangential sec-

tion of the cortex. D—Cross-section of the choanosome. E—Tripods. F—Triactines. G—Tetractines. H—Apical actine of tet-

ractines.

Considering skeleton composition, L. digitiformis sp. nov. is similar to L. leptoraphis and L. lobatus, as all of

them have tripods, triactines and tetractines. The new species, however, differs from them by several characteris-

tics. For example, L. leptoraphis and L. lobatus have triactines and tetractines with cylindrical actines, while our

new species has spicules with conical actines. Besides, in L. leptoraphis tetractines are very rare and in L. lobatus

the tripods have a kind of rudimentary fourth actine in the tripods. Moreover, the spines of the apical actine of the

tetractines of L. digitiformis sp. nov. differ from those of all the other species of Leucascus, as they are large in the

new species.

These large spines resemble those of Borojevia, however, the new species clearly has an atrial membrane, a

characteristic of Leucascus and absent in Borojevia. Nonetheless, looking at Borojevia spp., we found that the habi-

tus of Borojevia tubulata Van Soest & De Voogd, 2018, a species from Maldives, is very similar to ours. Besides, a

picture showing the atrium of the specimen ZMA Por. 12435, from the Seychelles, suggests that that specimen has

a true atrium, although this specimen had grouped molecularly inside Borojevia (Van Soest & De Voogd, 2018). We

unfortunately did not succeed to get a DNA sequence of our specimen to compare it with B. tubulata. Therefore, we

compared both species only morphologically and we found differences in the size of the spicules [B. tubulata—ho-

lotype—Tripods: 92˗133˗189/ 11˗13.4˗16; Triactines: 54˗63˗111/ 5.0˗6.3˗7.5; Tetractines: 51˗68˗96/ 6.0˗6.6˗9.0

(basal), 24˗37˗48/ 3.5˗4.4˗5.0 (apical)] (Table 6). As we found these differences in the size of the spicules and as

Van Soest & De Voogd (2018) stated that their species do not have a true atrium, we decided to consider our species

as a new one, still, it is desirable in the future to compare them molecularly.

TABLE 6. Spicule measurements of the holotype of Leucascus digitiformis sp. nov. (UFRJPOR 6460).

Spicule Actine Length (µm) Width (µm) N

min mean sd max min mean sd max

Tripod Basal 59.4 88.0 11.6 108.0 8.1 9.3 1.4 10.8 20

Triactine Basal 45.9 54.7 4.5 64.8 2.7 5.3 0.6 5.4 20

Tetractine Basal 51.3 57.4 3.5 67.5 5.4 5.5 0.6 8.1 20

Apical 13.5 35.4 18.4 75.6 2.7 5.0 1.6 8.1 10

Leucascus simplex Dendy, 1892

(Fig 7; Table 7)

Synonyms. Leucascus simplex, Dendy 1892: 77, Kirk 1897: 313, Dendy 1913: 9, Dendy & Row 1913: 731, Row & Hôzawa

1931: 742, Cavalcanti et al. 2013: 277. Leucetta chagosensis, Hall et al. 2013: 500.

Type locality. Port Phillip Heads, Australia

Material examined. UFRJPOR 6451 = MNHN-IP-2018-22—Tahiti, Society Islands, Station ST12 (17°31.30’

S–149°33.40’W), depth: 10 m, coll. C. Debitus, 23/III/2009, P2. UFRJPOR 6456 = MNHN-IP-2018-27—Hiva Oa,

Marquesas Islands, Station MHO05 (9° 42.553’ S–139° 01.18’ W), depth: 15 m, coll. C. Debitus, 08/IX/2009, P167.

Other material. UFRJPOR 6458 = MNHN-IP-2018-29—Moorea, Society Islands, Station M01 (17°29.681’ S–

149°51.717’ W), depth: 8 m, coll. C. Debitus, 04/XII/2010, P221. UFRJPOR 8919 = MNHN-IP-2018-60—Tahiti,

Society Islands, Station ST52 (17°47.147’ S–149°25.359’ W), depth: 30 m, coll. S. Petek, 21/IV/2013, P480˗ST52.

UFRJPOR 8921 = MNHN-IP-2018-62—Tahiti, Society Islands, Station ST27 (17°46.642’ S–149°24.236’ W),

depth: 20 m, coll. S. Petek, 12/IV/2013, P480˗ST27.

Colour. White alive and beige to light yellow in ethanol (Fig 7A).

Morphology and anatomy. Sponge massive, almost spherical. Sometimes there is more than one “sphere”

attached to another (Figs 7A, B). Each sphere has an apical osculum sometimes surrounded by membrane. The cor-

mus is formed by regular and tightly anastomosed tubes covered by a continuous, smooth, delicate cortex. The tubes

near the surface are more parallel to each other than in the middle of the choanosome. The atrial cavity is large and

delimited by endopinacoderm. Aquiferous system solenoid. The skeleton is composed of triactines and tetractines

(Fig 7C). Triactines are more abundant than the tetractines. The atrial skeleton is composed of tetractines only.

Spicules (Table 7)

Triactines. Regular to sagittal. Actines are slightly conical with sharp tips (Fig 7D). Size: 102.5/ 8.7 µm.

Tetractines. Regular to sagittal. Actines are slightly conical with sharp tips (Fig 7E). The apical actine is very

thin (needle-like), cylindrical and sharp, covered with very short spines (Fig 7F). Size: 96.7/ 8.1 µm (basal actine);

72.8/ 2.7 µm (apical actine).

KLAUTAU ET AL.

FIGURE 7. Leucascus simplex (UFRJPOR 6451). A—Specimen in situ. B—Fixed specimen. C—Cross-section of the choano-

some. D—Triactine. E—Tetractine. F—Apical actine of two tetractines. Abbreviation: at = atrium; cx = cortex.

Geographical distribution. Tahiti and Moorea, Society Islands; Hiva Oa, Marquesas Islands. XPirae (Tahiti-

ST12). Mataeia (Rautirae. Tahiti-ST27). Mataeia (Aifa. Tahiti-ST52). Opunohu (Moorea). Hanamenu (Hiva Oa).

French Polynesia and Marquesas Islands (Hall et al. 2013).

Remarks. The specimens from French Polynesia have spicules with sharp tips, while in the holotype they are

blunt. Besides, in the holotype the tetractines are rare, while in the specimens from French Polynesia they are abun-

dant (although still less abundant than the triactines). The spicules from the french polynesian specimens are also

thinner than those of the holotype [Triactines: 83.2–102.9 (±6.7)–114.4/ 11.7–13.3 (±0.9)–15.9 µm; Tetractines:

72.8–100.1 (±9.2)–117.0/ 10.4–12.1 (±1.0)–14.3 µm (basal), 26.0–42.3 (±8.8)–65.0/ 2.6–4.0 (±1.0)–5.2 µm (api-

cal)] (Table 7). In our C-LSU molecular tree L. simplex is sister species of L. flavus.

TABLE 7. Spicule measurements of Leucascus simplex (UFRJPOR 6451).

Spicule Actine Length (µm) Width (µm) N

min mean sd max min mean sd max

Triactine Basal 81.0 102.5 14.8 148.5 8.1 8.7 1.2 10.8 21

Tetractine Basal 27.0 96.7 17.0 108.0 5.4 8.1 0.9 10.8 21

Apical 51.3 72.8 14.1 108.0 2.7 2.7 0.0 2.7 20

Leucetta chagosensis Dendy, 1913

(Fig 8, Table 8)

Synonyms. Leucetta chagosensis—Dendy 1913: 10, Dendy & Row 1913: 733, Dendy & Frederick 1924: 482, Burton 1963:

241, Borojević 1967: 2, Pulitzer-Finali 1982: 89, Gosliner et al. 1996: 16, Lévi et al. 1998: 77, Wörheide & Hooper 1999:

882, Borojević & Klautau 2000: 194, Wörheide et al. 2002: 1753, Wörheide et al. 2005: 379, Baine & Harasti, 2007: 15,

Wörheide et al. 2008: 1, Voigt et al. 2012a: 101, Van Soest & De Voogd 2015: 51, 2018: 76; L. infrequens—Row & Hôzawa

1931: 747, Burton 1963: 241, Borojević & Klautau 2000: 195; L. expansa—Row & Hôzawa 1931: 749, Burton 1963: 241;

Ascoleucetta sagittata Cavalcanti et al. 2013: 308, Van Soest & De Voogd 2015: 49; Leucetta sp.—Colin & Arneson 1995:

60 (photo 230).

Material examined. UFRJPOR 6455 = MNHN-IP-2018-26—Moorea, Society Island, Station SM01 (17°29.681’

S–149°51.717’ W), depth: 10 m, coll. C. Debitus, 04/XII/2010, P2- SM01. UFRJPOR 6889 = MNHN-IP-2018-

54—Makemo, Tuamotu Islands, Station TMAK06 (16°28.120’ S–143°57.200’ W), depth: 18 m, coll. B. Bour-

geois, 10/V/2011, P266. UFRJPOR 6871 = MNHN-IP-2018-36—Fakarava, Tuamotu Islands, Station TFAK04

(16°05.231’ S–145°44.127’ W), depth: 50 m, coll. B. Bourgois, 18/V/2011. UFRJPOR 6874 = MNHN-IP-2018-

39—Rangiroa, Tuamotu Islands, Station TRAN04 (15°05.314’ S–147°56.531’W), depth: 30 m, coll. E. Folcher,

23/V/2011. UFRJPOR 6876 = MNHN-IP-2018-41—Fakarava, Tuamotu Islands, Station TFAK02 (16°04.900’

S–145°41.497’ W), depth: 15m, coll. S. Petek, 17/V/2011. UFRJPOR 6878 = MNHN-IP-2018-43—Rangiroa,

Tuamotu Islands, Station TRAN01 (15°13.359° S–147°14.832’ W), depth: 40 m, coll. B. Bourgeois, 22/V/2011.

UFRJPOR 6882 = MNHN-IP-2018-47—Toau, Tuamotu Islands, Station TTOA03 (15°47.480’ S–145°55.120’

W), depth: 18 m, coll. A. Renaud, 21/V/2011. UFRJPOR 6885 = MNHN-IP-2018-50—Tetiaroa, Society Islands,

Station STET01 (17°02.258 S–149°33.707 W), depth: 40 m, coll. A. Renaud, 31/V/2011, P266˗STET01. UFR-

JPOR 8955 = MNHN-IP-2018-64—Makemo, Tuamotu Islands, Station TMAK11 (16°38.485’ S–143°387.934’

W), depth: 30 m, coll. M. Dumas, 08/XI/2018, P669-TMAK11. UFRJPOR 8956 = MNHN-IP-2018-65—Makemo,

Tuamotu Islands, Station TMAK11 (16°38.485’ S–143°38.934’ W), depth: 20 m, coll. S. Petek, 08/XI/2018, P670-

TMAK11. UFRJPOR 8958 = MNHN-IP-2018-67—Rangiroa, Tuamotu Islands, Station TRAN06 (14°55.927°

S–147°43.329’ W), depth: 30 m coll. M. Dumas, 13/XI/2018, P669-TRAN06. UFRJPOR 8959 = MNHN-IP-

2018-68—Rangiroa, Tuamotu Islands, Station TRAN18 (14°55.841° S–147°44.019’ W), depth: 15 m, coll. M.

Dumas, 11/XI/2018, P669-TRAN18. UFRJPOR 8960 = MNHN-IP-2018-69—Rangiroa, Tuamotu Islands, Station

TRAN18 (14°55.841° S–147°44.019’ W), depth: 15 m, coll. M. Dumas, 11/XI/2018, P670-TRAN18. Comparative

material. BMNH 1920.12.9.51 (holotype).

Colour. Yellow alive, beige in ethanol (Fig 8A).

Morphology and anatomy. Sponge massive, spherical to sub-spherical, covered by a smooth cortex. Apical

osculum surrounded by membrane (Fig 8A). Hard and friable. There are subcortical inhalant cavities and the canals

are disposed in parallel, giving a radial organisation to the choanosome. Large exhalant canals arrive into the atrium,

giving it a reticulated appearance. Aquiferous system leuconoid. The skeleton is composed of giant triactines, pres-

ent mainly on the cortex, and small triactines and tetractines (Fig 8B). The small triactines are present on the cortex

and choanosome, while the small tetractines, which are few, are found only in the choanosome, mainly in the exhal-

ant canals.

KLAUTAU ET AL.

Spicules (Table 8)

Giant triactines. Regular. Actines are conical with sharp tips (Fig 8E). Variable sizes. Size: 523.0/ 40.0 µm.

Triactines. Regular to subregular. Actines are conical with sharp tips but some few spicules have cylindrical

actines. The apical actine of the tetractines is conical and sharp (Fig 8F, I). Size: 139.1/ 13.6 µm.

FIGURE 8. Leucetta chagosensis (UFRJPOR 6455). A—Fixed specimen. B—Cross-section of the choanosome. The asterisk

indicates the atrial skeleton. C—Tangential section of the cortex. D—Tangential section of the atrium. E—Giant triactine.

F—Small triactines. G—Small tetractine. H—Apical actine of a tetractine. Abbreviation: cx = cortex.

Tetractines. Regular to subregular. They are very few. Actines are conical with sharp tips but some have cylin-

drical actines. The apical actine is conical, sharp, smooth and curve (Fig 8G). Size: 107.8/ 10.0 µm (basal actine);

32.0/ 5.2 µm (apical actine; Fig 8H).

Geographical distribution. Indian Ocean—Chagos Archipelago (Dendy 1913), Abrolhos Islands (Dendy &

Frederick 1924), Red Sea and Maldives (Wörheide et al. 2008, Voigt et al. 2012a); Western Pacific Ocean—Indo-

nesia, Philippines, Japan, Western Australia, French Polynesia, and Samoa (Wörheide & Hooper 1999, Wörheide et

al. 2002, 2005, 2008, Voigt et al. 2012a), New Caledonia (Borojević 1967, Lévi et al. 1998, Borojević & Klautau

2000).

Remarks. Leucetta chagosensis is a species originally described from Chagos Archipelago (Indian Ocean).

Although in the original description Dendy (1913) had mentioned only the presence of large and small triactines,

we found few tetractines in the holotype (Table 8) and these spicules are being observed in all specimens identified

as L. chagosensis.

This species is considered to be widespread in the Indo-Pacific where it is characterised by its bright yellow

colour when alive, lobose habitus, large triactines and small triactines and tetractines, the latter being rare. It is

possible that L. chagosensis represents a species complex (Wörheide et al. 2002, 2005, 2008; Voigt et al. 2012a),

however, as this putative species complex has not been solved yet, we call our specimens L. chagosensis.

TABLE 8. Spicule measurements of Leucetta chagosensis (UFRJPOR 6455).

Spicule Actine Length (µm) Width (µm) N

min mean sd max min mean sd max

Giant triactine Basal 350.0 523.0 115.4 710.0 30.0 40.0 13.3 70.0 10

Triactine Basal 77.5 139.1 22.6 177.5 7.5 13.6 2.5 17.5 23

Tetractine Basal 65.5 107.8 21.4 155.0 5.0 10.0 2.3 15.0 30

Apical 17.5 32.0 10.5 50.0 5.0 5.2 0.8 7.5 11

Leucetta microraphis Haeckel, 1872

(Fig 9, Table 9)

Synonyms. Dyssycus primigenius, Lipostomella primigenia, Amphoriscus primigenius, Coenostomus primigenius, Artynas

primigenius, Aphroceras primigenium, Leucometra primigenia—Haeckel 1872: 118; Leucetta primigenia var. microra-

phis—Haeckel 1872: 118, Ridley 1884: 482; Leucetta microraphis—Von Lendenfeld 1885: 1117, Dendy & Row 1913:

734, Dendy & Frederick 1924: 482, Row & Hôzawa 1931: 746, Tanita 1942: 111, Burton 1963: 270, Borojević 1967: 3,

Borojević & Peixinho 1976: 1003, Pulitzer-Finali 1982: 87 (Pericharax orientalis according to Wörheide & Hooper 1999),

Borojević & Klautau, 2000: 193, Wörheide & Hooper 1999: 879, Van Soest & De Voogd 2015: 54, 2018: 80; Leucan-

dra primigenia var. microraphis—Row 1909: 186; Leucandra microraphis—Dendy 1892: 104; Leuconia dura—Poléjaeff

1883: 65, Lendenfeld 1885: 1118, Dendy 1892: 104; Leucaltis floridana var. australiensis—Carter 1886: 145; Leucandra

carteri Dendy 1892: 103; Leucetta carteri—Dendy & Row 1913: 734, Burton 1963: 241, Borojević 1967: 5; Leucetta

primigenia—Colin & Arneson 1995: 60 (photo 229); Gosliner et al. 1996: 16 (photo 4), Erhardt & Baensch 1998: 22 apud

Van Soest & De Voogd 2015. The same authors mentioned that the specimens identified by Breitfuss (1896, 1898) as

Leucetta solida were probably L. microraphis.

Material examined. UFRJPOR 6450 = MNHN-IP-2018-21—Bora Bora, Society Island (Leeward), ST SBB1

(16° 28.773’ S–151° 41.287’ W), depth: 15 m, coll. J. Orempuller, 09/VIII/2009, P29. UFRJPOR 6452 = MNHN-

IP-2018-23˗ Tahiti Island (17° 32.140’ S–149° 35.449’ W), depth: 25 m, coll. C. Debitus, 28/V/2009, P19, ST21.

UFRJPOR 6453 = MNHN-IP-2018-24—Tahiti, Society Islands, ST2 (17° 31.225’ S–149° 33.220’ W), depth:

14 m, coll. C. Debitus, 24/III/2009, P8˗ST2. UFRJPOR 6457 = MNHN-IP-2018-28—Moorea, Society Islands,

Station SM01 (17°29.681’ S–149°51.717’ W), depth: 14 m, C. Debitus, 04/XII/2010, P8˗SM01. UFRJPOR

6459 = MNHN-IP-2018-30—Raiatea, Society Island, Station SR10 (16° 49.873’ S–151° 20.825’ W), depth: 40

m, coll. C. Debitus, 16/VIII/2010, P64. UFRJPOR 6881 = MNHN-IP-2018-46—Tetiaroa, Society Islands, Sta-

tion STET01 (17°02.258 S–149°33.707 W), depth: 35 m, coll. E. Folcher, 31/V/2011, P348˗STET01. UFRJPOR

6888 = MNHN-IP-2018-53—Tetiaroa, Society Islands, Station STET03 (16°58.916 S–149°34.559 W), depth: 40

m, coll. D. Fleurisson, 01/VI/2011, P348˗STET03. UFRJPOR 8961—Tetiaroa, Society Islands, Station TTET02

(16°59.967S–149°35.440W), depth: 28 m, coll. M. Dumas, 21/XI/2018, P678˗TTET02.

KLAUTAU ET AL.

Colour. White to light blue or violet alive (Fig 9A) and beige to light brown in ethanol (Fig 9B).

Morphology and anatomy. This species is massive, hard and friable. It is harsh to the touch and has an amor-

phous shape (Figs 9A, B). It has several apical oscula, surrounded by membrane, and large atrium. The canals are

visible through the cortex, giving an anastomosed appearance to the sponge. Aquiferous system leuconoid (Fig 9C).

The specimen UFRJPOR 6450 has embryos.

FIGURE 9. Leucetta microraphis (UFRJPOR 6450). A—Specimen in situ. B—Fixed specimen. C—Cross-section of the cho-

anosome. D—Tangential section of the cortex. E—Tangential section of the atrium. F—Large triactines. G—Small triactines.

H—Small tetractines. I—Apical actine of a tetractine. Abbreviation: at = atrium; cx = cortex.

The skeleton is composed of giant triactines present in the cortex (Fig 9D) and choanosome and small triactines

and tetractines (Fig 9E). The small triactines are present in the cortex and choanosome, while the small tetractines

are found only in the choanosome. The tetractines are very few and they are present only surrounding the canals.

Spicules (Table 9)

Giant triactines. Regular (equiangular and equiradiate) and subregular (not equiradiate). Actines are conical

with sharp tips (Fig 9F). Variable sizes. Size: 1108.3/ 137.5 µm.

Triactines. Regular to sagittal. Actines are conical with blunt tips (Fig 9G) but some triactines with cylindrical

actines were also observed (Fig 9I). Size: 145.4/ 15.0 µm.

Tetractines. Regular to sagittal. Actines are conical with blunt tips (Fig 9H) but some tetractines have also cylin-

drical actines (Fig 9J). The apical actine is very thin, conical, sharp, and smooth (Fig 9K). Sometimes it is undulated

Size: 136.3/ 10.4 µm (basal actine); 30.8/ 5.9 µm (apical actine).

Geographical distribution. Indo-Pacific (Poléjaeff 1883, Ridley 1884, Von Lendenfeld 1885, Carter 1886,

Dendy 1892, Row 1909, Dendy & Frederick 1924, Row & Hôzawa 1931, Colin & Arneson 1995, Gosliner et al.

1996, Erhardt & Baensch 1998, Wörheide & Hooper 1999, Borojević & Klautau 2000, Van Soest & De Voogd 2015,

2018).

Remarks. Leucetta microraphis is a widespread species with conserved skeleton but variable habitus. As these

variable habitus have been considered only polymorphism (except for L. sulcata Van Soest & De Voogd, 2018, see

Discussion), we identified our specimens as L. microraphis, however, it is possible that we have a new species of

Leucetta in French Polynesia. We discuss this subject in more detail at the end of the paper.

TABLE 9. Spicule measurements of Leucetta microraphis (UFRJPOR 6453).

Spicule Actine Length (µm) Width (µm) N

min mean sd max min mean sd max

Giant triactine Basal 925.0 1108.3 179.4 1400.0 125.0 137.5 20.9 175.0 06

Triactine Basal 114.8 145.4 21.4 232.2 7.5 15.0 11.6 21.6 42

Tetractine Basal 83.7 136.3 10.4 162.0 5.4 10.4 1.4 12.5 42

Apical 10.8 30.8 17.2 67.5 4.1 5.9 1.9 10.8 17

Leucandra tahuatae sp. nov.

(Figs 10, 11, 12, Table 10)

Etymology. From the type locality (Tahuata)

Type locality. Matatehoke, Tahuata, Marquesas Island, French Polynesia.

Material examined. Holotype: UFRJPOR 6454 = MNHN-IP-2018-25—Matatehoke, Tahuata, Marquesas

Island, Station MT01 (9° 53.589’ S–149° 33.220’ W), depth: 33 m, coll. C. Debitus, 10/IX/2009, P177.

Diagnosis. Sponge white, tubular, with cortical triactines, large and small choanosomal triactines, and choano-

somal and atrial tetractines.

Colour. White alive and beige in ethanol (Fig 10A).

Morphology and anatomy. Sponge tubular with apical osculum (Figs 10A, B) surrounded by membrane (Fig

10C). Surface smooth. Large central atrium. Aquiferous system leuconoid.

The cortical skeleton is composed of tangential triactines (Figs 11A, B). In the choanosome there are large

triactines (larger than those of the cortex) and small choanosomal triactines and tetractines. Some of these small

triactines and the small tetractines surround the choanosomal canals (Fig 10E). The subatrial skeleton is composed

of triactines that point their unpaired actine to the cortex (Fig 10F). The atrial skeleton has tangential tetractines that

point their apical actine into the atrium (Figs 10F, 11C, D).

Spicules (Table 10)

Cortical triactines. Subregular. Actines are slightly conical with sharp tips. Sometimes they are undulated. The

unpaired actine is shorter than the paired ones (Fig 12A). Size: 449.0/ 32.6 µm (paired), 369.0/ 28.3 µm (unpaired).

Choanosomal large triactines. Subregular. Actines are slightly conical with sharp tips. Sometimes they are

undulated. The unpaired actine is shorter than the paired ones (Fig 12B). Size: 796.7/ 53.0 µm (paired), 537.8/ 50.3

µm (unpaired).

KLAUTAU ET AL.

Choanosomal small triactines. Strongly sagittal, with curved paired actines when they are surrounding the ca-

nals. Actines are slightly conical with sharp tips. One of the paired actines is frequently shorter than the other actines

(Fig 12C). Size: 151.4/ 11.0 µm (paired), 172.1/ 12.6 µm (unpaired).

FIGURE 10. Leucandra tahuatae sp. nov. (UFRJPOR 6454). A—Specimen in situ. B—Fixed specimen. C—Oscular mem-

brane. D—Cross-section of the choanosome. E—Chonanosome showing a canal (black arrow: tetractine; white arrow: triac-

tine). The asterisk indicates larvae. F—Subatrial (arrows) and atrial skeletons. Abbreviation: at = atrium; cx = cortex.

FIGURE 11. Leucandra tahuatae sp. nov. (UFRJPOR 6454). SEM. A, B—Tangential section of the cortex. C, D—Tangential

section of the atrium.

Choanosomal small tetractines. Strongly sagittal with curved paired actines, as they are find surrounding the

canals. Actines are slightly conical with sharp tips. The unpaired actine can present the same length of the paired

ones or be shorter. The paired actines are undulated. The apical actine is much shorter and thinner. It is conical, sharp

an smooth (Fig 12D). Size: 158.1/ 11.7 µm (paired), 184.1/ 13.0 µm (unpaired), 50.9/ 8.9 µm (apical).

Subatrial triactines. Strongly sagittal (T-shaped). Actines are slightly conical with sharp tips. The unpaired ac-

tine is longer than the paired ones (Fig 12E). Size: 163.6/ 13.2 µm (paired), 261.3/ 16.3 µm (unpaired).

Atrial tetractines. Sagittal. Actines are slightly conical with sharp tips. The basal actines show the same length

and they are straight. The apical actine is shorter than the basal ones, conical, sharp and smooth (Fig 12F). Size:

214.8/ 14.9 µm (paired), 215.5/ 14.8 µm (unpaired), 50.1/ 8.1 µm (apical).

Ecology. There was algae inside the atrium of this sponge.

Geographical distribution. Marquesas Island, French Polynesia (present work).

Remarks. Most leucandras present diactines in their skeleton but L. tahuatae sp. nov. is part of a small group

of this genus without diactines. Another characteristic that differentiates the new species from most leucandras is the

presence of a subatrial skeleton. However, sometimes it is very difficult to be sure if a species does not have suba-

trial skeleton or if its author just did not mention it. Hence, to compare our new species other species of Leucandra,

we considered only those with skeleton composed of cortical triactines, choanosomal large and small triactines,

choanosomal tetractines, and atrial tetractines. We found only three most similar species to L. tahuatae sp. nov.:

L. ramosa (Burton, 1934), L. mozambiquensis Van Soest & De Voogd, 2018, and L. pilula Van Soest & De Voogd,

2018.

KLAUTAU ET AL.

FIGURE 12. Leucandra tahuatae sp. nov. (UFRJPOR 6454). A—Cortical triactines. B—Choanosomal large triactines. C—

Choanosomal small triactines. D—Choanosomal small tetractines. E—Subatrial triactines. F—Atrial tetractine.

Leucandra ramosa was originally described from Australia. It can be differentiated from L. tahuatae sp. nov.

by its greyish-brown colour in ethanol (the new species is white) and by the size of some spicule categories. Corti-

cal triactines: up to 210.0/ 11.0 (L. ramosa); 260.0˗449.0˗700.0/ 25.0˗32.6˗40.0—paired actine, 180.0˗369.0˗550.0/

10.0˗28.3˗35.0—unpaired actine (L. tahuatae sp. nov.). Choanosomal large triactines: up to 960.0/ 64.0 (L. ramosa);

508.1˗796.7˗1016.1/ 37.8˗53.0˗64.9—paired actine, 378.4˗537.8˗756.7/ 37.8˗50.3˗54.1—unpaired actine (L. tahua-

tae sp. nov.). Choanosomal small triactines: up to 240.0/ 12.0 (L. ramosa); 108.0˗151.4˗202.5/ 9.5˗11.0˗13.5—

paired actine, 129.6˗172.1˗221.4/ 10.8˗12.6˗13.5—unpaired actine (L. tahuatae sp. nov.).

Leucandra mozambiquensis, recently described from Mozambique Channel, can be differentiated from the new

species by its external morphology, as it is an “irregular cup-shaped hollow mass” (Van Soest & De Voogd 2018)

while the new species is tubular, and mainly by the presence of tetractines instead of triactines in the subatrial skel-

eton.

Leucandra pilula, described from Seychelles, is globose, while L. tahuatae sp. nov. is tubular. The for-

mer has oxhorn-shaped cortical triactines, while ours has equiangular cortical triactines. Besides, some of

their spicule categories have sizes. Cortical triactines: 216.0˗281.0˗372.0/ 16.0˗21.6˗28.0—paired actine,

178.0˗245.0˗326.0/ 15.0˗22.7˗31.0—unpaired actine (L. pilula); 260.0˗449.0˗700.0/ 25.0˗32.6˗40.0—paired actine,

180.0˗369.0˗550.0/ 10.0˗28.3˗35.0—unpaired actine (L. tahuatae sp. nov.). Subatrial triactines: 100.0˗186.0˗303.0/

11.0˗16.6˗29.0—paired actine, 94.0˗172.0˗254.0/ 9.0˗17.8˗26.0—unpaired actine (L. pilula); 116.1˗163.8˗243.0/

10.2˗13.2˗16.2—paired actine, 164.7˗261.3˗335.1/ 10.8˗16.3˗21.6—unpaired actine (L. tahuatae sp. nov.). Atrial

tetractines: 136.0˗239.0˗380.0/ 9.0˗17.1˗32.0—paired actine, 101.0˗186.0˗271.0/ 14.0˗19.4˗32.0—unpaired ac-

tine, 45.0˗84.0˗130.0/ 4.0˗8.4˗11.0—apical actine (L. pilula); 155.0˗214.8˗325.0/ 13.5˗14.9˗15.0—paired actine,

150.0˗215.5˗300.0/ 12.5˗14.8˗15.0—unpaired actine, 30.0˗50.1˗67.5/ 6.3˗8.1˗10.0—apical actine (L. tahuatae sp.

nov.)

TABLE 10. Spicule measurements of the holotype of Leucandra tahuatae sp. nov. (UFRJPOR 6454).

Spicule Actine Length (µm) Width (µm) N

min mean sd max min mean sd max

Cortical triactine Paired 260.0 449.0 132.4 700.0 25.0 32.6 4.7 40.0 20

Unpaired 180.0 369.0 122.8 550.0 10.0 28.3 6.3 35.0 20

Choanosomal large

triactine

Paired 508.1 796.7 149.2 1016.1 37.8 53.0 6.7 64.9 20

Unpaired 378.4 537.8 122.1 756.7 37.8 50.3 5.3 54.1 20

Choanosomal small

triactine

Paired 108.0 151.4 27.0 202.5 9.5 11.0 1.0 13.5 11

Unpaired 129.6 172.1 28.7 221.4 10.8 12.6 1.2 13.5 11

Choanosomal tetrac-

tine

Paired 108.0 158.1 24.2 210.6 8.1 11.7 1.7 13.5 20

Unpaired 126.9 184.1 29.9 234.9 9.5 13.0 1.5 16.2 20

Apical 27.0 50.9 10.5 72.9 6.8 8.9 1.3 10.8 20

Subatrial triactine Paired 116.1 163.6 43.2 243.0 10.2 13.2 2.1 16.2 15

Unpaired 164.7 261.3 50.8 335.1 10.8 16.3 3.4 21.6 15

Atrial tetractine Paired 155.0 214.8 41.7 325.0 13.5 14.9 0.3 15.0 20

Unpaired 150.0 215.5 37.3 300.0 12.5 14.8 0.6 15.0 20

Apical 30.0 50.1 8.4 67.5 6.3 8.1 1.1 10.0 20

Molecular taxonomy

Calcinea ITS

Both phylogenetic methods used, Bayesian Inference (BI) and Maximum Likehood (ML), recovered trees with

similar topologies, as shown in Figure 13. In this tree we included Clathrina huahineae sp. nov., Ernstia variabilis

sp. nov., and L. microraphis from French Polynesia. A sequence of L. chagosensis from French Polynesia was also

included (BMOO16210), however, that sequence is not from one of our specimens.

Clathrina was recovered as a monophyletic genus with high bootstrap (99%) and posterior probability (1.0).

Clathrina huahineae sp. nov. was a sister species of C. mutabilis, clustering with a bootstrap of 100% and posterior

probability of 1.0. The p-distance between them was of 3.6%.

Ernstia was also recovered as monophyletic with high bootstrap (99%) and posterior probability (1.0) values. Se-

quences belonging to Ernstia variabilis sp. nov. clustered into a highly supported clade (bootstrap: 100%; posterior

probability: 1.0), with low p-distance (0–0.3%), which confirms morphological analysis of the specimens belonging

to the same species. This clade was closely related to Ernstia citrea (bootstrap: 48%; posterior probability: 1.0), with

a genetic divergence of 1.9% (p-distance), evidencing that these are two diferent species. Both E. variabilis sp. nov.

and E. citrea formed a well supported clade with the E. pyrum (bootstrap: 100%; posterior probability: 1.0).

As in previous studies the genus Leucetta was not monophyletic (e.g. Klautau et al. 2013). The specimen of

Leucetta microraphis from French Polynesia grouped with other specimens of that species, with a bootstrap of 87%

and posterior probability of 1.0. The intraspecific p-distance varied from 0 to 3.4%. Two subclades were formed,

one including specimens from the Great Barrier Reef (GBR, Australia; bootstrap of 100%, posterior probability of

1.0) and another reuniting specimens from the Red Sea and our specimen from the French Polynesia (bootstrap of

91%, posterior probability of 1.0).

Calcinea C-LSU

As for ITS, BI and ML analyses recovered trees with similar topologies as shown in Figure 14. In that tree we in-

cluded four species from French Polynesia: Ernstia variabilis sp. nov., Leucascus simplex, Leucetta chagosensis,

and L. microraphis.

KLAUTAU ET AL.

The genus Ernstia was also recovered as monophyletic with C-LSU, with high bootstrap (100%) and posterior prob-

ability (1.0) values. Ernstia variabilis sp. nov. presented an intraspecific p-distance of 0.2–0.7% and clustered into

a big clade along with Ernstia adunca Fontana et al., 2018, Ernstia arabica Voigt et al., 2017, Ernstia klautauae

Van Soest & De Voogd, 2015, Ernstia naturalis Van Soest & De Voogd, 2015 and Ernstia aff. naturalis (bootstrap:

88%; posterior probability: 1.0). However, relationship among these species was not highly supported and topology

differences were obtained in ML and Bayesian methods.

This is the first time that a C-LSU sequence of the type species of Leucascus, L. simplex Dendy, 1892, was

generated. Despite this, the three species of Leucascus included in our tree grouped with 98% bootstrap and 1.0 of

posterior probability. Leucascus simplex from French Polynesia presented an intraspecific p-distance of 0.5% and

was sister species of L. flavus, with a p-distance of 2.0%.

Like in the ITS phylogeny, the clade of Leucetta is polyphyletic and falls in a clade with Ascoleucetta, Leucet-

tusa and Pericharax. Our specimens of L. chagosensis and L. microraphis grouped inside this major Leucetta

clade.

Leucetta chagosensis formed a clade with specimens from French Polynesia, Coral Sea, and Indonesia (66%

bootstrap, 1.0 of posterior probability). The intraspecific p-distance in this clade varied from 0.0 to 2.2%.

Leucetta microraphis formed a more intricate clade, as it included L. sulcata (72% bootstrap, 1.0 of posterior

probability). We can recognise six subclades in the L. microraphis sensu lato clade: one reuniting Leucetta sulcata

specimens (87% bootstrap, 1.0 of posterior probability), a second clade with specimens from French Polynesia

(63% bootstrap, 1.0 of posterior probability), a third one reuniting specimens from Rodrigues (98% bootstrap, 1.0

of posterior probability). The two specimens from the Red Sea did not form a clade. In fact, one of these specimens

grouped with the Indonesian specimen with low support (<50% bootstrap, 0.6 of posterior probability). Finally, the

specimens from the Great Barrier Reef (Australia) grouped with high support (80% bootstrap, 1.0 of posterior prob-

ability).

Leucetta sulcata was considered a species different from L. microraphis because of its white colour and “grooved

and holed habitus” (Van Soest & De Voogd, 2018). In fact, analysing the external morphology of the specimens in

this clade they present different habitus.

Calcaronea C-LSU

Both BI and ML trees presented similar topologies. The ML tree is shown in Figure 15 and both bootstrap and pos-

terior probability supports are presented there.

In this tree, the only species from the French Polynesia is Leucandra tahuatae sp. nov. Leucandra is a genus al-

ready known as being paraphyletic (e.g. Voigt et al. 2012a; Klautau et al. 2016; Alvizu et al. 2018; Cóndor-Luján et

al. 2018). In our tree, Leucandra showed again to be paraphyletic. Our new species, Leucandra tahuatae, was sister

species of a large clade composed of Leucandra and Paraleucilla Dendy, 1892 species and of Breitfussia schulzei

(Breitfuss, 1896).

Two species morphologically similar to L. tahuatae sp. nov. were included in the tree: L. mozambiquensis and

L. pilula. The new species presented a p-distance of 4.4% with L. mozambiquensis and of 4.3% with L. pilula.

Discussion and conclusion

With the present work, the number of calcareous sponges from French Polynesia increased from 6 to 15. Consider-

ing just calcareous sponges, we re-collected only one (Leucetta chagosensis) of the five previously known species.

The other seven species are new occurrences in French Polynesia and six of them are new to science.

It is also the first time that the genera Ascandra, Clathrina, Ernstia, Leucascus, and Leucandra were found in

French Polynesia. According to our results, the Eastern Indo-Pacific Realm shows more affinity with the Central

and the Western Indo-Pacific Realms. The three species that support these affinities are Ascandra crewsi, previously

known only from Papua New Guinea (Van Soest & De Voogd 2015), and Leucetta chagosensis and L. microraphis,

both widespread species in the Indo-Pacific.

The high intraspecific p-distance of L. microraphis and of L. chagosensis suggest that these species can rep-

resent species complexes or that they have a complex evolutionary history of founder and vicariant events that

resulted in regional isolation and incipient speciation processes (Wörheide et al. 2008; Voigt et al. 2012, Van Soest

& De Voogd 2018).

FIGURE 13. ML phylogenetic tree of the ITS from Calcinea. Species sequences found in the present work are highlighted.

Support values are shown at the nodes (Posterior Probability and Bootstrap values; < means value below 50%,—means node

not present in the Bayesian phylogeny). Midpoint rooted tree.

KLAUTAU ET AL.

FIGURE 14. ML phylogenetic tree of the LSU from Calcinea. Species sequences found in the present work are highlighted.

Support values are shown at the nodes (Posterior Probability and Bootstrap values; < means value below 50%,—means node

not present in the Bayesian phylogeny). Midpointed root tree.

FIGURE 15. ML phylogenetic tree of the LSU from Calcaronea. Species sequences found in the present work are highlighted.

Support values are shown at the nodes (Posterior Probability and Bootstrap values; < means value below 50%,—means node

not present in the Bayesian phylogeny). Tree rooted with Leucosolenia spp.

For L. microraphis, however, at the moment is very difficult to recognise which clade could contain the true

L. microraphis. This species was a variety of L. primigenia Haeckel, 1872 and, to our knowledge, no type nor type

locality was ellected by its author. Therefore, until a revision of the genus with perhaps the proposal of a neotype is

done, it will be very difficult to unravel this species complex.

The molecular markers ITS and C-LSU once again helped the identification of calcareous sponges, showing

how important is an integrative taxonomy. The increase of 250% (6 spp to 15 spp) shows how poorly known is the

diversity of Calcarea in the French Polynesia. More studies on this group are desirable not only to know the true

biodiversity of Calcarea in French Polynesia, but to help understanding the evolutionary history of Calcarea in the

world.

KLAUTAU ET AL.

Acknowledgements

We thank French Polynesian authorities for permitting and kindly support our sponge surveys in French Polynesia,

IRD for funding of R/V Alis field trips, R/V Alis crew and the IRD-Noumea diving team for their help. This work

was funded by the Brazilian National Research Council (CNPq) and by the Coordination for the Improvement of

Higher Education Personnel (CAPES). M.K. received a fellowship from CNPq. M.V.L. and B.G. received scholar-

ships from CAPES (PROTAX) and PIBIC/UFRJ, respectively.

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Calcinean sponges (Porifera: Calcarea) from the shelf edge of the Great Australian Bight

Article

Jun 2024
ZOOL J LINN SOC-LOND

The deep-water regions of eastern and central Great Australian Bight (GAB) are subject to hydrocarbon exploration; consequently, there are efforts to study their biodiversity. Australia has ~200 species of Calcarea, but none has been described taxonomically from the GAB, and most are known down to only 200 m depth. A characterization of deep benthic communities was performed in the GAB at depths ranging from 200 to 3000 m. Of sponge species collected, 16% were members of Calcarea, and 11 were members of subclass Calcinea, which is the focus group of this work. Morphological and molecular tools were used for identification. Calcinean sponges were not found deeper than 400 m. The most diverse genus was Ascoleucetta, which had four species. Nine species and two genera are new to science: Clathrina williamsi sp. nov., Leucascus boomerang sp. nov., Ascoleucetta gabensis sp. nov., Ascoleucetta globularis sp. nov., Ascoleucetta parallela sp. nov., Ascoleucetta plana sp. nov., Leucetta conspicua sp. nov., Robspongia vociva gen. nov., sp. nov., and Rappya australiensis gen. nov., sp. nov. Calcareous sponges represented 1.8% of overall sponge biomass, and site 181 had the highest species richness. Our results reveal a unique community of calcareous sponges hidden within the GAB, suggesting high endemism.

Poriferans rift apart: molecular demosponge biodiversity in Central and French Polynesia and comparison with adjacent marine provinces of the Central Indo-Pacific

Article

Full-text available

May 2023
BIODIVERS CONSERV

The distribution of marine sponges in the tropical Southwest Pacific Ocean is largely unexplored despite the vital ecological role of sponges in coral reefs and their value as sources of metabolites for drug design. Several collection campaigns to the French Poly-nesian archipelagos (Society, Marquesas, Tuamotu, Gambier, and Austral) were conducted to assess the bio-and chemodiversity of the island groups. In the course of these scientific expeditions, more than 200 identified sponge specimens were acquired, for which we were able to assign 102 Molecular Operational Taxonomic Units (MOTUs). Based on these MOTUs, we assessed, in the largest analysis of its kind for this area to date, the sponge composition and faunistic overlaps of the marine province Southeast Polynesia with Mar-quesas and Central Polynesia. We also compared the sponge fauna of these Eastern Indo-Pacific provinces with marine provinces of the adjacent Central Indo-Pacific realm. Our findings corroborate that sponge faunal similarity within marine realms is higher than among realms, and follows the marine barriers to gene flow observed for other taxa. We detected high levels of provincial endemism for marine sponges, consistent with findings from other Indo-Pacific regions. At the level of province, geographical distance and ocean surface currents influence faunal similarity, and constitute the primary factors for the con-nectivity of sponge faunas between the disjunct and remote island groups in the tropical Southwest Pacific Ocean.

On some cryptic sponges associated with Lessonia trabeculata holdfasts in the South-eastern Pacific

Article

Full-text available

Oct 2022
MAR BIOL RES

The warm temperate Southeast Pacific coast hosts extensive kelp forests that provide protected habitats to benthic organisms such as sponges. To soundly understand the interactions between kelps and sponges, a prior taxonomic identification of the associated species is necessary. This study aimed to report cryptic sponges found associated with the inner walls of the holdfast of the kelp Lessonia trabeculata, opportunistically collected in the upwelling area of San Juan de Marcona (15°S, Peru). Three sponges were identified including one Calcarea, Clathrina antofagastensis, and two Demospongiae, Johannesia reticulosa and Haliclona (Halichoclona) paracas. None of them was previously known to occur associated with kelps. These findings highlight the importance of exploring these less-studied (biogenic) substrates to uncover hidden marine biodiversity and the need for observational or experimental studies addressing the interactions developed between kelps and their epiphytozoans. Supplementary online material: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.21331109.v1

New genus and species of lithistid demosponges from submarine caves in Nuku Hiva (Marquesas Islands) and Tahiti Iti (Society Islands), French Polynesia

Article

Full-text available

Jun 2021

Lithistid demosponges are well known from limestone caves of karstic origin in the Mediterranean Sea. However, they have never been reported from submarine caves of volcanic origin in the South Pacific. Here, we describe and provide DNA barcodes for four new lithistid demosponges including one new genus. All species grew on basaltic rocks inside lava tubes on Nuku Hiva Island (Marquesas Islands) and Tahiti Iti peninsula on Tahiti Island (Society Islands) in French Polynesia. Three of the species have rhizoclone desmas as choanosomal skeletons and belong to the family Scleritodermidae (Microscleroderma miritatarata sp. nov. and Microscleroderma lava sp. nov.) and Siphonidiidae (Gastrophanella basaltica sp. nov.). The new genus Levispongia gen. nov. belongs to the family Corallistidae. The new species Levispongia meyeri gen. nov. sp. nov. has dicranoclone desmas, complex dichotrianes with strongly spinose upper surfaces of the cladome and microstyles as the only microscleres. Phylogenetic relationships of these new species are discussed and compared with other material from the Caribbean and Central to the West Pacific Ocean. urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:844E385C-9A92-4F1B-B85C-9C1E319CD13F

Ernsta nom. nov. (Calcarea, Porifera), a new genus name to replace Ernstia Klautau et al., 2013

Article

Jun 2021

Unveiling hidden sponge biodiversity within the Hawaiian reef cryptofauna

Article

Full-text available

Jun 2022
CORAL REEFS

Our perception of reef diversity is dominated by corals, fish, and a few other groups that visibly dominate the reef surface. However, the bulk of reef biodiversity resides within the reef framework, and this cryptobiota is fundamentally important for the surface community. Sponges are abundant and conspicuous on the reef surface in productive, continental reefs, but largely vanish from surveys of the oligotrophic reefs of Oceania. However, their diversity in the cryptobiota remains poorly characterized. Here, we explore the contribution of cryptobenthic sponges to overall sponge diversity on 1750 m of reef habitat in Kāneʻohe Bay and Waimanalo in the island of Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi. We also assessed cryptic sponges using 15 m of autonomous reef monitoring structures (ARMS) deployed in this same area. We used integrative taxonomy combining morphology, COI and 28S barcoding to delineate and track species, most of which are poorly known or undescribed. We documented 186 OTUs, 150 of which are new records for the Hawaiian Islands, increasing the known sponge fauna of Kāneʻohe Bay by 3.5-fold, and that of the Hawaiian Islands by 2.5-fold. More than ¾ of the sponge OTUs were cryptobenthic. Reef sampling provided access to 31% (44 OTUs), whereas 52% (75 OTUs) were retrieved exclusively fromARMS. These results illustrate that the interstices of ARMS units provide suitable habitat for settlement of cryptobenthic sponges that would otherwise be impossible to access through traditional field surveys. Tracking species with provisional names, using integrative species delineation anchored to vouchers, images, and DNA barcodes provides a powerful approach for working with such a poorly understood fauna.

The complex case of the calcareous sponge Leucosolenia complicata (Porifera: Calcarea): hidden diversity in Boreal and Arctic regions with description of a new species

Article

Oct 2023

In this study, we present the first integrative revision of the Boreal and Arctic calcareous sponges of the genus Leucosolenia with a specific focus on its biodiversity in the White Sea. The material for this work included a combination of newly collected specimens from different regions of the North-East Atlantic and the White Sea and historical museum collections. An integrative analysis was implemented based on vast morphological data (light microscopy, scanning and transmission electron microscopy), microbiome observations, ecological data, accompanied by molecular phylogenetic and species’ delimitation analyses based on three nuclear markers (28S rRNA, 18S rRNA, and histone 3). We demonstrate that Leucosolenia complicata, previously reported from Arctic waters, is restricted to the North-East Atlantic, while in the Arctic, Leucosolenia diversity is represented by at least four species: Leucosolenia corallorrhiza, Leucosolenia variabilis, and two new species, one of which is described herein under the name Leucosolenia creepae sp. nov.. The molecular phylogeny analysis supports the species identity of these species. In addition to conventional morphological characters, new informative fine morphological characters (skeleton and oscular crown organization; cytological structure, including morphotypes of symbiotic bacteria) were found, providing a baseline for further revision of this group in other regions.

Calcareous sponges (Porifera, Calcarea) from the Northeastern Brazilian coast: integrative taxonomy and support for the creation of a marine park

Article

Sep 2023

Calcarea corresponds to ~ 8% of the known sponge species richness and more studies are needed to reveal its diversity, distribution, and biology. Here, we investigated the calcareous sponges from a small area at the littoral of Salvador, Bahia, Northeastern Brazil, that was being considered for the creation of a marine park. Whenever possible, both morphological and molecular approaches were applied. Our results revealed the presence of seven species: Ascandra alba sp. nov., Borojevia tenuispinata Azevedo, Padua, Moraes, Rossi, Muricy & Klautau, 2017, B. trispinata Azevedo, Padua, Moraes, Rossi, Muricy & Klautau, 2017, Clathrina robusta sp. nov., C. soluta sp. nov., Leucandra serrata Azevedo & Klautau, 2007, and Sycon avus Chagas & Cavalcanti, 2017. Besides the three new species described here, new records for Bahia are provided and, for some of the species, morphological variations are reported. The number of Calcarea species from Salvador increased from 5 to 10, and from 19 to 24 for Bahia. Together with other local inventories on the benthic biota, these results were shown to the authorities while reasons to support the park were being discussed. The Barra Marine Park was furtherly created, clearly showing the importance of our work for both science and society.

Neoernsta nom. nov. (Calcarea, Porifera), a new genus name to replace Ernsta Klautau, Azevedo & Cndor-Lujn, 2021

Article

Aug 2023

Umakant Deshmukh

New shallow-water sponges (Porifera) from the Galpagos Islands

Article

Aug 2021

Twenty-five new species of shallow-water sponges are described from the Galápagos Islands, a province of Ecuador in the eastern Pacific Ocean. Sponges were photographed in situ and collected by SCUBA divers between 2001 and 2004. New species include: Acanthancora equiformis sp. nov., Acanthella saladinorum sp. nov., Cacospongia hermanorum sp. nov., Cinachyrella solis sp. nov., Ciocalypta bustamanti sp. nov., Clathria (Microciona) stellata sp. nov., Clathrina andreusi sp. nov., Craniella lissi sp. nov., Dragmacidon raeae sp. nov., Dragmacidon hendersoni sp. nov., Haliclona (Haliclona) clairae sp. nov., Haliclona (Haliclona) dianae sp. nov., Haliclona (Reniera) oberi sp. nov., Haliclona (Soestella) spuma sp. nov., Haliclona (Soestella) roslynae sp. nov., Hemimycale harlequinus sp. nov., Hemimycale nathani sp. nov., Higginsia johannae sp. nov., Neopetrosia eructans sp. nov., Leucilla agitata sp. nov., Penares angeli sp. nov., Prosuberites vansoesti sp. nov., Suberea esmerelda sp. nov., Tethya annona sp. nov. and Tethya sorbetus sp. nov. In addition, three species have been recorded for the first time from the Galápagos Islands: Chalinula cf. molitba (De Laubenfels, 1949), Chelonaplysilla violacea (Von Lendenfeld, 1883) and Tedania (Tedania) tropicalis Aguilar-Camacho, Carballo & Cruz-Barraza, 2018. This paper represents a significant contribution to our knowledge of the Porifera of the Galápagos Islands.

Calcareous sponges of the Western Indian Ocean and Red Sea

Article

Full-text available

Jun 2018

Past taxonomic studies of Western Indian Ocean and Red Sea Calcarea have been few and sporadic (e.g. Schuffner 1877, Jenkin 1908, Row 1909, Dendy 1913, 1916, Voigt et al. 2017, 2018). Nevertheless, approximately 70 species are known from these studies for the considered region, but the descriptions of the older records often lack sufficient details for reliable identification. We studied the Western Indian Ocean Calcarea collection kept in the Naturalis Biodiversity Center. Available specimens numbered 145, collected in the Red Sea, Seychelles, Maldives, Mayotte and Rodrigues, in addition to incidental samples from Oman, the Lakshadweep Islands, the Mozambique Channel, and Eastern South Africa. Using a combination of techniques (in situ and ‘on deck’ photography, detailed field notes, light microscopic studies and measurements, SEM microscopy, and selected DNA sequencing) we identified 45 species, divided over the two main classes Calcinea (24 spp.) and Calcaronea (21 spp.). Not all species could be definitely assigned to an already described or a new species, as seven remained qualified as ‘spec.’ or ‘aff.’ for reasons of insufficient material or lack of details of in situ habitus. Sixteen species appeared to be new to science: Borojevia voigti sp.nov., Borojevia tubulata sp.nov., Borojevia pirella sp.nov., Clathrina rodriguesensis sp.nov., Clathrina maremeccae sp.nov., Clathrina repens sp.nov., Leucascus schleyeri sp.nov., Leucetta sulcata sp.nov., Ute insulagemmae sp.nov., Leucandra pilula sp.nov., Leucandra mozambiquensis sp.nov., Grantessa woerheidei sp.nov., Sycettusa hirsutissima sp.nov., Vosmaeropsis glebula sp.nov., Paraleucilla erpenbecki sp.nov., and Kebira tetractinifera sp.nov. For a selection of the identified species from the Western Indian Ocean and the Red Sea (30 spp.), as well as from Indonesian material (22 spp.) published previously (see Van Soest & De Voogd 2015) we obtained sequences of the partial 28S gene of nuclear rDNA (C2–D2 region, cf. Voigt & Wörheide 2016). The sequences of the Western Indian Ocean and Red Sea species were used to assign these to genera and families based on a phylogenetic analysis using MEGA pack vs. 06.6 for Mac of the available dataset. The Indonesian sequences supplemented by partial 28S sequences taken from the Sponge Barcode Project website and the NCBI website were included in the phylogenetic analysis to confirm the assignments. The results were compared and discussed with additional information on regional Calcarea not represented in our material. The latter chapter yielded the discovery of a preoccupied name leading to Sycon oscari nom.nov. for a species described from Mauritius.

Taxonomy and phylogeny of calcareous sponges (Porifera: Calcarea: Calcinea) from Brazilian mid-shelf and oceanic islands

Article

Full-text available

Aug 2017

Despite the enormous economic, scientific and strategic value of the Brazilian oceanic and mid-shelf islands (BOMIs), the biological communities of these islands are still poorly known. An example is their fauna of calcareous sponges (Porifera: Calcarea), with only six species described up to date. In the present study, we analysed the Calcinean sponges from the mid-shelf Abrolhos Archipelago and four of the five Brazilian oceanic islands (São Pedro e São Paulo Archipelago, Fernando de Noronha Archipelago, Rocas Atoll, and Trindade Island), using both morphological and molecular approaches for taxonomy. Fourteen species were found, of which 12 are new to science: Arturia trindadensis sp. nov., Borojevia tenuispinata sp. nov., B. trispinata sp. nov., Clathrina insularis sp. nov., C. lutea sp. nov., C. mutabilis sp. nov., C. zelinhae sp. nov., Ernstia citrea sp. nov., E. multispiculata sp. nov., E. rocasensis sp. nov., E. sanctipauli sp. nov., and E. solaris sp. nov. These results raised in 63% the species richness of calcareous sponges from the BOMIs. Clathrina aurea and Leucetta floridana were recollected and the former had its geographical distribution expanded. The molecular tree obtained confirmed the morphological identifications and allowed a discussion about the evolution of morphological characters, and the usefulness of some of those characters in the taxonomy of Calcinea.

Sponges of Polynesia

Book

Full-text available

Jun 2017

Surveys of French Polynesian sponges were undertaken over many years to fill the gap in our knowledge of this group as a cornerstone for the conservation of marine biodiversity, and also to investigate potential new economical resources in French Polynesia. The website https://sponges-polynesia.ird.fr/ and this eBook, generated from the website, are updated monthly from the Queensland Museum's database http://www.spongemaps.org/. "Sponges of Polynesia" is a database of the sponge fauna in French polynesia, with photographs, descriptions, distribution and habitat.

New data on the distribution of the alien sponge Paraleucilla magna Klautau, Monteiro & Borojevic, 2004 in the Adriatic Sea

Article

Full-text available

Jan 2016

The alien sponge Paraleucilla magna was recorded in Montenegro (southern Adriatic Sea) on the newly constructed parts of a pier in the Porto Montenegro marina (Tivat, Boka Kotorska Bay). A high abundance of the species was recorded in February and May 2016, while only one specimen was found in August of the same year. Data collection contributes to the knowledge of the distribution of this species in the Adriatic Sea as a basis for future monitoring.

Sponge Fauna in the Sea of Marmara

Article

Full-text available

Apr 2016

Sponge species collected along the coasts of the Marmara Sea in 2012-2013 were studied. A total of 28 species belonging to 19 families were found, of which four species (Ascandra contorta, Paraleucilla magna, Raspailia (Parasyringella) agnata and Polymastia penicillus) are new records for the eastern Mediterranean, while six species [A. contorta, P. magna, Chalinula renieroides, P. penicillus, R. (P.) agnata and Spongia (Spongia) nitens] are new records for the marine fauna of Turkey and 12 species are new records for the Sea of Marmara. Sponge specimens were generally collected in shallow water, but two species (Thenea muricata and Rhizaxinella elongata) were found at depths deeper than 100 m. One alien species (P. magna) was found at 10 m depth at station K18 (Büyükada). The morphological and distributional features of the species that are new to the Turkish marine fauna are presented. © Published by Central Fisheries Research Institute (CFRI) Trabzon, Turkey.

First occurrence of the genus Paraleucilla (Calcarea, Porifera) in the Atlantic Ocean: P. magna sp. nov.

Article

Nov 2004

We describe the first species of the genus Paraleucilla Dendy 1892 from the Atlantic Ocean. P. magna sp. nov. is characterized by the presence of triactines composing the atrial skeleton and the absence of giant diactines, which are characteristic of P. cucumis (Haeckel 1872), a species from Australia, the only known Paraleucilla that also presents atrial triactines. P. magna sp. nov. is the most abundant calcareous sponge in Rio de Janeiro State (Brazil), and shows a strong seasonality, disappearing in autumn.

Diversity and distribution patterns of Calcareous sponges (subclass Calcinea) from Martinique

Article

Apr 2018

Calcareous sponges of the subclass Calcinea from Martinique (Caribbean Sea) are presented under an integrative perspective (morphology and DNA: ITS and C-LSU). Eleven species of six genera have been found in Martinique, three of them being new to science: Borojevia crystallina sp. nov., Clathrina delicata sp. nov., and Ernstia adunca sp. nov. Among these new records, four species were previously known from other Caribbean localities: Arturia vansoesti, Clathrina insularis, C. mutabilis, and Leucaltis clathria. Two species previously known in Brazilian waters are reported for the first time in the Caribbean Sea: Arturia alcatraziensis and C. cf. cylindractina. Finally, the occurrence of C. aurea and Leucetta floridana in Martinique is confirmed. The two molecular markers (ITS and C-LSU) and the morphological characters considered (e.g. body shape, aquiferous system and spicules) provided congruent classifications what tend to confirm their reliability for the taxonomy of Clathrinida. After the present work, a total of 17 species of Calcarea are recognised for Martinique. We discuss three types of distribution patterns (Endemic, Caribbean-Brazil, and Amphi-Atlantic), Martinique likely playing an important role as stepping stone to garantee connectivity among populations of Calcinea in the Atlantic.

Morphological and molecular taxonomy of calcareous sponges (Porifera: Calcarea) from Curaçao, Caribbean Sea

Article

Jan 2018

Despite the acknowledged high diversity of sponges in the Caribbean Sea, calcareous sponges from this region have been poorly studied. In order to start filling this gap, in this study we describe the calcareous sponges from Curaçao, Southern Caribbean. The specimens were collected by SCUBA in eight localities along the island of Curaçao and analysed by morphological and molecular (ITS and C-LSU) approaches. A total of 16 species were found and are described here. Ten species are new to science and are provisionally endemic to Curaçao: Arturia vansoesti sp. nov., Clathrina curacaoensis sp. nov., Clathrina globulosa sp. nov., Grantessa tumida sp. nov., Leucandra caribea sp. nov., Leucilla antillana sp. nov., Leucilla micropilosa sp. nov., Leucandrilla quadriradiata sp. nov., Sycon conulosum sp. nov. and Sycon magnapicale sp. nov. The formerly Brazilian endemic species Borojevia tenuispinata, C. lutea, C. insularis and C. mutabilis have their distribution widened to the Caribbean Sea. Clathrina hondurensis and Leucetta floridana are new records for Curaçaoan waters. With these new records, the diversity of calcareous sponges from the Caribbean Sea reaches 33 species. Some issues on the phylogeny of Calcarea are also discussed.

The Percy Sladen trust expedition to the Indian Ocean in 1905 (V). I. Report on the Calcareous Sponges collected by HMS 'Sealark' in the Indian Ocean

Article

A. Dendy

Life history and reproductive dynamics of the cryptogenic calcareous sponge Sycettusa hastifera (Porifera, Calcarea) living in tropical rocky shores

Article

Oct 2016

Life history accounts for the chance of survival and reproductive success of a species, considering, for example, when, how often and how much a species reproduces. Consequently, it is directly related to the success or failure of bioinvasions. Here, we investigated some aspects of the life history of the cryptogenic calcareous sponge Sycettusa hastifera . A population from Arraial do Cabo, Brazil (south-western Atlantic) was investigated from September 2008 to December 2009 by monthly collections and histological analyses. We observed that S. hastifera reproduced continuously throughout the year without seasonality and presented high fecundity. The fecundity was not different depending on the sponge body part (top or base), but it was related to the wet weight of the sponge (although a minimum size was not required for reproduction). Reproduction could not be predicted by the seawater temperature. The reproductive characteristics of S. hastifera were similar to those of other previously studied calcareous sponges. Sycettusa hastifera shows traits of an invasive species, such as high fecundity, short life cycle, early sexual maturity and the ability to use pioneer habitats. Consequently, it possesses several characteristics that would allow it to invade new areas.

Calcareous sponges from the French Polynesia (Porifera: Calcarea)

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