Staurocalyptus pamelaturnerae Reiswig, 2018

Reiswig, Henry M., 2020, Report of Cladorhiza bathycrinoides Koltun (Demospongiae) from North America and a new species of Farrea (Hexactinellida) among sponges from Cordell Bank, California, Zootaxa 4747 (3), pp. 562-574 : 570-571

Staurocalyptus pamelaturnerae Reiswig, 2018

( Fig. 6C )

Synonymy: Staurocalyptus pamelaturnerae Reiswig, 2018 , 141.

Material examined. CAS 223279, col. no. NA085-061-A, E/ V Nautilus w ROVs Hercules & Argus, Cordell Bank, Calif. , 37.98ºN, 123.49ºW. 980.99 m, 10 Aug. 2017.

Description. The specimen is a soft, irregular funnel-shape form with main osculum margin indented on one side, and a secondary smaller osculum below ( Fig. 6C ). It projects laterally from attachment on a vertical hard substrate, and is yellow in color. The main body is smooth and naked, but oscular margins bear projecting prostal diactins and smooth (unthorned) raised hypodermal pentactins in a narrow four mm-wide band; the band is obvious as a dark brown feather-like ring of overgrowth (hydrozoans and bryozoans) attached to the bare surfaces of projecting spicules. Length of the partially collected specimen is not measureable in the video record but width is 25.2 cm; length is probably 35–40 cm.

Body form, body color, and spicules are similar to those of Staurocalyptus pamelaturnerae , the holotype of which was collected 65 km from the site of the Cordell Bank specimen at a comparable depth (981 vs 806 m). Prostal diactins are 9.5 mm in mean length (vs 9.0 mm in the holotype), pentactine hypodermalia have mean tangential ray length of 1.5 mm (vs 1.7 mm there), discoctaster mean diameter is 184 µm mean diameter (vs 164 µm there), oxyhexasters mean diameter is 118 µm (vs 113 µm there), and mean microdiscohexaster diameter is 21.2 µm (vs 19.3 µm there). The two specimens differ in ray thickness of megascleres but there is great overlap in the data. A bothersome complication is the discovery of apparent hypodermal pentactins in the atrial spicule preparations not noted in the holotype preparations; this may be due to contamination of the atrial surface by hypodermalia during collection, but the next specimen should be very carefully assessed for presence or absence of true hypoatrialia. Assignment of the Cordell Bank specimen to this species has high confidence and represents only the second known specimen of S. pamelaturnerae .

Distribution. Known from only two locations, the holotype from The Greater Farallons National Marine Sanctuary and the present specimen from the bordering Cordell Bank Marine Sanctuary, both in northern California, USA, from depths of 806– 981 m.

Figures

FIGURE 6. In situ images of other specimens. A. Caulophacus (Caulophacus) schulzei, arrowheads indicate 10 cm spaced laser spots. B. Rhabdocalyptu dawsoni, 10 cm spaced laser spots are obvious. C. Staurocalyptus pamelaturnerae, 10 cm spaced laser spots are above the specimen. All images credit: OET/NOAA National Marine Sanctuaries.