New sciophilous sponges from the Caribbean (Porifera: Demospongiae)

Abstract

Thirteen new species of sponges are described from coral reefs of the Netherlands Antilles and the Colombian Caribbean. Species were collected during quantitative investigations of reef sponges performed by students of the University of Amsterdam in the period between 1984 and 1991. Most of the reported specimens were taken from undersides of coral rubble, crevices or reef caves (sciophilous habitats) and without exception are small encrusting or fistular sponges. The material reported in this paper includes a new genus and species of Placospongiidae, Placospherastra antillensis n. g. n. sp. , the first Caribbean representatives of the genera Triptolemma (Pachastrellidae) and Megaciella (Acarnidae), viz. Triptolemma endolithicum n. sp. and Megaciella incrustans n. sp., a new species of Timeidae, Timea curacaoensis n. sp., a new species of Microcionidae with peculiar colloscleres, Clathria (Thalysias) collosclera n. sp., two new species of Chondropsidae, viz. Batzella fusca n. sp., and Strongylacidon unguiferum n. sp., three new species of Coelosphaeridae, viz. Forcepia (Forcepia) minima n. sp., Forcepia (Forcepia) fistulosa n. sp., and Forcepia (Leptolabis) microlabis n. sp., a new species of Crellidae, Crella (Grayella) beglingerae n. sp., a new species of Hymedesmiidae, Hymedesmia (Hymedesmia) bonairensis n. sp., and a new species of Mycalidae, Mycale (Paresperella) vitellina n. sp. Most species are represented by only small fragments removed from the substrate by scalpel or diving knife, leaving little and often crumbled preserved type material. This study is intended to demonstrate that the small crusts dominating easily accessible shallow water coral rubble habitats in the Caribbean remain understudied.

Mangrove and coral reef sponge faunas: untold stories about shallow water Porifera in the Caribbean

“…Total numbers of species were used to interpret the distribution of sponge taxa (genera, families, and orders) among mangrove and open reef environments. Data from cryptic coral reef studies from Curaçao and Bonaire (Kobluk & Van Soest, 1989;Van Soest, 2009) were included as a comparative habitat reference. The species matrix was analyzed using Sørensen's similarity index and then projected using MDS ordination to identify similar faunas within and among habitats (Clarke, 1993).…”

Morphological description and DNA barcodes of shallow-water Tetractinellida (Porifera: Demospongiae) from Bocas del Toro, Panama, with description of a new species

“…This is a relatively low number of species compared to neighboring regions with similar habitats and where sponge surveys are more comprehensive. For example, along the Caribbean Colombian coast there has been a total of 11 tetractinellid species identified (Wintermann-Kilian & Kilian 1984;Díaz 2007;van Soest 2009) while Cuba has 26 (Alcolado 2002). If we consider only shallow-water tetractinellids, Belize has about 10 species (Rützler et al 2000;Erpenbeck et al 2007), Curacao has 11 (van Soest 1981) while Jamaica has 12 (Lehnert & van Soest 1998).…”

Biodiversity of shallow-water sponges (Porifera) in Singapore and description of a new species of Forcepia (Poecilosclerida: Coelosphaeridae

“…These have been largely overlooked in the past because they are usually cryptic and small, making sampling and identification difficult. A large number of new sponges (13 species) from such habitats were described recently from the otherwise well-studied Caribbean region (van Soest, 2009). More than ten sciophilous sponges from this study are undetermined species and await identification.…”

“…The high number of species in Singapore can be also attributed to the relatively long sampling duration (over five years of regular surveys) and sampling effort, and also the inclusion of cryptic and sciophilous taxa. For example, Van Soest (2009) has shown that sponges inhabiting the undersides of coral rubble and crevices are not just juveniles but comprise a distinct assemblage of sponges. These have been largely overlooked in the past because they are usually cryptic and small, making sampling and identification difficult.…”