Smenospongia nigra, Sim & Lee & Kim, 2016

Sim, Chung Ja, Lee, Kyung Jin & Kim, Young A, 2016, Twelve new species of two genera Smenospongia and Cacospongia (Demospongia: Dictyoceratida: Thorectidae) from Korea, Journal of Species Research 5 (1), pp. 31-48 : 32-33

2. Smenospongia nigra n. sp. ( Fig. 2 )

Type specimen. Holotype ( NIBRIV0000321366 ), Korea: Jeollanam-do, Shinan-gun, Heuksan-myeon, Gageodo Island (Jakeunganyeo), 14 Oct 2013, Kim HS, by SCUBA diving, Depth 20 m, deposited in the NIBR.

Description. Thick mass, size up to 13 × 8 × 6 cm. Surface, honeycomb pattern with short and sharp conules, covered with slimy membrane. Oscules open at surface of sponge. Colour in life light beige, change grey after exposure to air and turn to black very slowly in alcohol. Texture soft and compressible, cavernous.

Skeleton: Primary fibres, 200-250 μm in diameter, regularly arranged at surface and have dark colour. Fasciculated primary fibres, 400-600 μm in diameter. Chanoso- mal primary fibres, 100-250 μm in diameter, cored with rare spicules and small sands, but easy to find spicules at end of surface primary fibres.

Secondary fibres, 30-50 μm in diameter at surface. Choanosomal secondary fibres, 100-150 μm in diameter, irregularly arranged. Some part of enlarged secondary fibres cored with material like egg. Lateral side of sponge has thin secondary fibres network. Secondary fibres at base of sponge attached to substrate ( Fig. 2G ).

Etymology. The specific name, nigra , is named after the black color in spirit.

Remark. This new species is similar to Smenospongia coreana Lee and Sim, 2005 in that the colour changed very slowly, but differs in skeletal structure. Secondary fibres of Smenospongia coreana are distributed only at the ectoderm and changed its colour to dark brown. This new species has secondary fibres throughout the sponge and changed its colour to black.

Figures

Fig. 2. Smenospongia nigra n. sp. A, entire animal; B, closed surface; C, end of primary fibre; D, surface primary and secondary fibre; E, choanosome secondary fibres enclosed egg ball; F, choanosome skeletal structure; G, base secondary fibres; H, echinating primary fibres. Scale bars:A=3 cm, C-H=200μm.