Unravelling the moons: review of the genera Paratetilla and Cinachyrella in the Indo-Pacific (Demospongiae, Tetractinellida, Tetillidae)

Abstract

Paratetillabacca (Selenka, 1867) and Cinachyrellaaustraliensis (Carter, 1886) occur in a broad range of marine environments and are allegedly widely distributed species in the Indo-Pacific. We coin the term ‘moon sponges’ for these species as they are spherical in shape with numerous porocalices resembling the lunar surface. Both species have a complex taxonomic history with high synonymization, in particular by Burton (1934, 1959). An examination of the junior synonyms proposed by Burton (1934, 1959) was conducted to establish the validity of the names. More than 230 specimens from Naturalis Biodiversity Center were reviewed that belong to the genera Paratetilla and Cinachyrella from marine lakes, coral reefs, and mangroves in Indonesia. The aim of the current study was to untangle the taxonomic history, describe the collection of moon sponges from Indonesia, and develop a key. We extensively reviewed the taxonomic literature as well as holotypes of most of the species synonymized by Burton. The taxonomic history of Paratetilla spp. and Cinachyrellaaustraliensis showed some cases of misinterpreted synonyms, misidentifications, and lack of detailed descriptions for some species. The conclusion of the revision is that there are three valid species of Paratetilla (P.arcifera, P.bacca, and P.corrugata) and four valid species of Cinachyrella (C.australiensis, C.porosa, C.paterifera, and C.schulzei) in Indonesia. This is furthermore corroborated by molecular work from previous studies. ParatetillaarciferaWilson 1925 and C.porosa (Lendenfeld, 1888) are resurrected. A full review of taxonomic history is provided as well as a key for identification of moon sponges from Indonesia. All species are sympatric and we expect that there are undescribed species remaining within the Tetillidae from the Indo-Pacific. Our current review provides the framework from which to describe new species in the genera Paratetilla and Cinachyrella from the Indo-Pacific.

Short Communication: Diversity of sponges associated in seagrass meadows at coastal area of Pacitan District, East Java, Indonesia

“…For this reason, the distinction from this study of S. inconstans in the two sites can be used as a bioindicator to estimate the physiochemical condition of Pacitan coast in future studies, for example, the effect of ocean acidification or anthropogenic activities at the localities. The presence of other species such as P. bacca at the two sites corroborates that this "ball or moon" sponge, is a conspicuous sponge that inhabits a broad range of marine ecosystems from reefs, shores, mangroves, and marine lakes (Becking et al 2013a;Santodomingo and Becking 2018).…”

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“…in this study. Previous work on Tetillidae (family of the genus Paratetilla) had identified several primary and secondary metabolites 8 . Two biologically active proteins from this family have been isolated, one of which is the potently cytotoxic hemolysin, and the other is a novel protease inhibitor with homology to the Kunitz family of serine protease inhibitors 9 .…”

Population structure and microbial community diversity of two common tetillid sponges in a tropical reef lagoon

“…Tissue sections were prepared to examine the sponge skeleton structure. Diagnostic characters were matched to descriptions in the Thesaurus of Sponge Morphology (Boury-Esnault & Rützler, 1997), Systema Porifera (Hooper & Van Soest, 2002) and the work of Santodomingo & Becking (2018) to verify sponge identities.…”

“…Tetillid sponges are classified under family Tetillidae of order Tetractinellida, class Demospongiae. They generally possess a globular morphology with crater-like depressions (Rützler & Smith, 1992) and are commonly referred to as ''moon sponges'' (Chambers et al, 2013;Santodomingo & Becking, 2018). The pronounced circular configuration of their megascleres, minimal basal attachment, and almost solid spicule core allow tetillid sponges to inhabit environments that are influenced by frequent disturbances (Byrne, 1987).…”