Scalarispongia subjiensis, Kim & Sim, 2020

Kim, Young A & Sim, Kyung Jin Lee and Chung Ja, 2020, Seven new species of two genera Scalarispongia and Smenospongia (Demospongiae: Dictyoceratida: Thorectidae) from Korea, Journal of Species Research 9 (2), pp. 147-161 : 151

5. Scalarispongia subjiensis n. sp. ( Fig. 7 )

ḏnjȓnjċflųğãḓậ (ljÿ)

Type specimen. Holotype (NIBRIV0000862772), Korea: Seopjikoji, Goseong-ri, Seongsan-eup , Seogwipo-si , Jeju-do, 17 Mar 2003, collected by K.J. Lee, intertidal zone, rocky substrate, deposited at NIBR.

Description. Thick encrusting sponge, size up to 9 × 5 × 2 cm. Surface smooth, honeycomb shape with exposed skeletal fibres. Several oscules 1-2 mm in diameter, open on surface. Color, gray in alcohol. Texture soft and compressible.

Skeleton: Skeletal structure with three dimensional arrangement. Primary fibres, 60-90 μm in diameter. Secondary fibres, 30-50 μm in diameter. Pseudo-tertiary fibres at surface, 10-20 μm in diameter. Length of bridged secondary fibres between primary fibres, 250-400-800 μm.

Etymology. The species name, subjiensis , is named after type locality, Seopjikoji, Sungsanpo, Jeju-do.

Remarks. This new species is very unique in skeletal structure. The regular ladder-like pattern occurs only at the choanosome.

Figures

Fig. 7. Scalarispongia subjiensis n. sp.A, external morphology; B, surface under the dissecting microscope; C, D, ladder-like skeletal struc- ture; E, F, pseudo-tertiary fibres at the surface (arrow in E); G, H, skeletal structure near surface. Scale bars: A=2 cm, B=0.2 cm, C=200 μm, D-H=100 μm.