This article reports on 12 new species originating from the Chilean fjords region, namely Clathria (Microciona) mytilifila sp. nov., Haliclona (Reniera) caduca sp. nov., Latrunculia (L.) ciruela sp. nov., Latrunculia (L.) copihuensis sp. nov., Latrunculia (L.) verenae sp. nov., Latrunculia (L.) yepayek sp. nov., Myxilla (Burtonanchora) araucana sp. nov., Neopodospongia tupecomareni sp. nov., Oceanapia guaiteca sp. nov., Oceanapia spinisphaera sp. nov., Suberites cranium sp. nov. and Tethya melinka sp. nov. The material studied was collected between 5 and 30 m depth at latitudes comprised between 42º and 50ºS, and is part of a large collection of Chilean sponges gathered by an international team in a series of expeditions. Identification keys are provided for SE Pacific Suberites and Latrunculia, and the known species of Myxilla (Burtonanchora) and Neopodospongia. A trans-Pacific link to the New Zealand fauna was retrieved for the latter genus. Distribution ranges apparent from the materials studied here are judged too preliminary to allow any inference on biotic boundaries in the SE Pacific. A revision of earlier assertions about these biogeographic units and their boundaries concluded that very little support remains other than for existence of a Magellanic fauna. This is in part a consequence of revising the taxonomy of sponge species originally deemed to underpin these areas. Specifically, the former proposal of a Central to Southern Chile biogeographic unit (33-56ºS) has been markedly undone.
Halichondria Fleming, 1828 is a genus which poses special challenges to the porifera taxonomist due to a shortage of conspicuous anatomical characters. Species may have one or more categories of oxeas, frequently hard to tell apart, di stributed in a criss-crossed pattern , where spicular tracts are seldom vi sible. Such absence of a pattern is known as the halichondroid architecture.There are nevertheless over 70 species described for the who le world, and the detai led study of these records has gained some momentum with the discovery of biologically active metabolites in some Halichondria (e.g. MUNRO et af. 1994). For the Brazilian coast, six species were cited previously (DE LAUBENFELS 1956;JOHNSON 1971 ; HECHTEL 1983; MURJCY et af. 1991 ;LERNER 1996; MURJCY & MORAES 1998), viz. Halichondria ("Menanetia") Hechtel , 1965. The status of these records will be discussed below. It is the purpose of this article to describe four new species found in the Sao Sebastiao Channel area.
MATERIAL AND METHODSSpecimens were studied in situ whenever possible. The underwater photographs were taken by the senior author with a Nikonos V underwater camera and a close-up kit (close-up lens or extension tubes). Size classes for the range of possible spicule lengths were obtained by using the classic Sturges' algorithm (I + 3.310gtl, where "tl" is the range between largest and smallest lengths). They were collected with a diver' s knife through scuba diving or wading at low tide. Preparations of
Deep-sea reefs and coral banks are increasingly known as highly biodiverse ecosystems where sponges constitute a significant proportion of builders and inhabitants. Albeit smaller in dimensions, Campos Basin coral mounds also harbor a rich associated fauna, whence only 16 species of sponges had been fully identified this far. Seven new species are described here, viz. Geodia garoupa sp. nov., Vulcanella stylifera sp. nov., Trachyteleia australis sp. nov., Echinostylinos brasiliensis sp. nov., Xestospongia kapne sp. nov., Sympagella tabachnicki sp. nov., and Leucopsacus barracuda sp. nov. Of the 24 species of sponges known from the area, only seven were found elsewhere too, thus suggesting a possible high endemism in Campos Basin. Nevertheless, the widespread occurrence of deep reef-framework building corals along a large sector of the Brazilian coast suggests these habitats and their associated fauna may be more widespread than currently appreciated. Echinostylinos patriciae nom. nov. is proposed for the New Zealand record of E. reticulatus.
Twenty-one species of Aaptos Gray, 1867 are known world-wide, of which only three were reported from Brazil. Two new species of this genus are here described from the Brazilian coast (Potiguar Basin, Northeastern Brazil): A. hajdui sp. nov. and A. potiguarensis sp. nov. Both possess only one category of strongyloxeas and one of styles, although both with wide size variation, suggesting that the diagnosis of the genus should be revised. Previous Brazilian records of A. aaptos have their status re-evaluated here, and only three species of the genus can be considered valid in Brazil: A. glutinans, A. hajdui sp. nov. and A. potiguarensis sp. nov.
Two new species of the genera Phycopsis and Ciocalapata are described from the shallow waters off the Brazilian coast. This is the first record of Phycopsis in South Atlantic, with Phycopsis styloxeata sp. nov. being the only species of the genus that presents three categories of spicules: two of styles and one of oxeas. Ciocalapata, here represented by Ciocalapata minuspiculifera sp. nov., displays smaller oxeas and styles when compared to its congeneric C. amorphosa (Ridley & Dendy, 1886). The definition of this genus was modified and its geographical and bathymetric distributions now extend from the coast of Argentina to the northeastern coast of Brazil (state of Bahia) and from deep (1.097 m) to shallow (14-20 m) waters, respectively.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.