Antarctic sponges (Porifera, Demospongiae) of the South Shetland Islands and vicinity: part I. Spirophorida, Astrophorida, Hadromerida, Halichondrida and Haplosclerida

Abstract

The aim of this work is to redescribe 11 species of sponges collected through the Brazilian Antarctic Program (PROANTAR), at the South Shetland Islands and vicinity. New information is provided on the Antarctic sponge fauna, in regard to species richness and the geographical and bathymetric distributions of identified species. The following species were identified and are here illustrated and fully described: Cinachyra antarctica (Carter, 1872), Cinachyra barbata Sollas, 1886, Craniella leptoderma (Sollas, 1886), Tethyopsis longispinum (Lendenfeld, 1907), Polymastia invaginata Kirkpatrick, 1907, Homaxinella balfourensis (Ridley & Dendy, 1886), Suberites montiniger Carter, 1880, Halichondria (Eumastia) attenuata (Topsent, 1915), Haliclona (Soestella) chilensis (Thiele, 1905), Hemigellius bidens (Topsent, 1901) and Calyx arcuarius (Topsent, 1913). Two new records are given for the Antarctic continent: Halichondria (Eumastia) attenuata (Topsent, 1915) and Haliclona (Soestella) chilensis (Thiele, 1905). Tethyopsis longispinum (Lendenfeld, 1907), Suberites montiniger Carter, 1880 and Hemigellius bidens (Topsent, 1901) represent the first records for this sector of the continent. Bathymetric data are extended for T. longispinum and H. attenuata.

Diversity and Distribution Patterns in High Southern Latitude Sponges

“…Sponges are often a dominant component of many Antarctic benthic communities, but in some areas they can be patchy in distribution [4] . These animals can form heterogeneous habitats supporting some of the richest benthic communities in the Antarctic, as has been found in the Weddell Sea [5] , Ross Sea [6] , East Antarctica [7] and the West Antarctic Peninsula [8] , [9] .…”

Sponge biodiversity of the Jason Islands and Stanley, Falkland Islands with descriptions of twelve new species

“…The previously known species reported in the Falklands have been recorded predominantly from southern Chile and Argentina with one species from each of South Georgia and the South Shetland Islands. No Antarctic species were reported from this study, although Halichondria (Eumastia) attenuata is known from South Georgia and Haliclona (Soestella) chilensis has been reported from the South Shetland Islands (Campos et al, 2007), both of which are below the Polar Frontal Zone. Burton (1932) recorded 51 species from the Falkland Islands, 29 of which were also found in the Antarctic, 23 off Graham Land, 19 from South Georgia, 24 from South America and 6 from Kerguelen.…”

Epibiotic sponges on the hairy triton Fusitriton magellanicus in the SW Atlantic Ocean, with the description of Myxilla (Styloptilon) canepai sp. nov.

“…Van Soest et al (2011) report this species as belonging to the genus Pseudosuberites. In agreement with Campos et al (2007), we also collected a specimen that matched the general description of the species, especially regarding the shape and size of the spicules and the sponge morphology; the main difference with the species described by Carter (1880) is that the skeletal organization in our specimen is typical of a Suberites species. However, we agree on the fact that the bipolar distribution of Pseudosuberites montiniger deserves a revision that is beyond the scope of this study, this will be investigated in depth in a further manuscript.…”