Four newScopalinafrom Southern California: the first Scopalinida (Porifera: Demospongiae) from the temperate Eastern Pacific

Abstract

Sponges (phylum Porifera) are common inhabitants of kelp forest ecosystems in California, but their diversity and ecological importance are poorly characterized in this biome. Here I use freshly collected samples to describe the diversity of the order Scopalinida in California. Though previously unknown in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, four new species are described here: Scopalina nnnn1 sp. nov., S. kkkk sp. nov., S. gggg sp. nov., and S. jjjj sp. nov.. These discoveries illustrate the considerable uncharacterized sponge diversity remaining in California kelp forests, and the utility of SCUBA-based collection to improve our understanding of this diversity.

The order Axinellida (Porifera: Demospongiae) in California

“…To date, this ongoing project has netted 1155 sponge samples, mostly from diving depths but also from the intertidal zone and marinas. We previously used this collection to revise the orders Tethyida (Turner 2020) and Scopalinida (Turner 2021), and have now identified 73 of these samples as members of the Axinellida. These include fresh collections of all but one of the named shallow-water species, an additional species that was known to exist but had not been described, and three additional species that were previously unknown.…”