Cliothosa Topsent, 1905

Ubare, Vibha V. & Mohan, P. M., 2018, New Records and Range Extensions of Some Marine Sponges (Porifera: Demospongiae and Homoscleromorpha) from the Andaman Islands, India; Part of the Indo-Burma Biodiversity Hotspot., Zoological Studies 57 (3), pp. 1-15 : 4-5

Genus Cliothosa Topsent, 1905 Cliothosa aurivillii (Lindgren, 1897)

( Figs. 4 and 5 )

Synonyms: Spirastrella aurivillii Lindgren, 1897

Spirastrella aurivillii excavans Lindgren, 1897

Material examined: 1 ex., DOSMB 00121,

India: Andaman and Nicobar Islands: North Andaman: Diglipur, Coll. Vibha Ubare, 9.ix.2016.

Description: This sponge is present in the alpha stage only ( Fig. 4A ). The sponge specimen fills the cavity 8 × 4.5 × 2.5 cm, inside the coral substrate ( Figs. 4 B-C). It has numerous papillae outside the coral substrate. These papillae are connected internally to the chamber. The papillae are 7.4 × 5.1 mm. In the living specimen, the colour of papillae and internal mass of specimen is orange and, after preservation, the colour of papillae changes to white and internal mass becomes dull orange. The internal mass of the sponge is very soft and rubbery; the papillary region is compact and brittle.

Spicules: Megascleres- Two types of tylostyles are present, one is thick, and the other is thin. The thick tylostyles ( Fig. 4D 1 ) are large, smooth, stout and slightly curved with a circular head, usually subterminal, and measures 479.0- 632.0/31.0-31.5 µm. The thin tylostyles ( Fig. 4D 2 ) are straight and smooth with circular and oval heads and measures 336.0-476.0/7.0-12.0 µm.

Microscleres- The large sized amphiasters ( Fig. 4D 3 ) have branches and bifurcated tips; they measure 26.0-59.0/3.2-3.3 µm.

Skeleton: The amphiasters are present only in the internal mass of the sponge; they were not observed in the papillary region. In the papillary region, the tylostyles are arranged in a vertical manner ( Figs. 4 E-F) and showing irregular arrangement in the internal mass of the sponge.

Habitat: This sponge is present in a boring form with live or dead coral. The host coral occurs with sea grass Thalassia hemprichii , algae Halimeda spp. , Padina spp. , sea cucumber and foraminiferan Sorites spp.

Distribution: India: Gulf of Mannar and Palk Bay ( Thomas 1979); in the present study, it was observed at North Andaman: Diglipur; Elsewhere: Palau ( Bergquist 1965), Sunda Shelf/Java Sea ( Lindgren 1898), West Caroline Islands ( Bergquist 1965) and Indonesia ( Hooper and van Soest 2002) ( Fig. 5 ).

Remarks: This species has been reported from the Andaman Islands for the first time in this study. Pattanayak (1999 2006) mentioned a Cliothosa hancocki (Topsent, 1888) from Port Blair, South Andaman region. The differences between these two species are that the C. hancocki consists of a single type of tylostyle (320.0- 480.0/15.0-22.0 μm), nodular amphiaster (10.0- 12.0/3.0-4.0 μm) and slender amphiaster (18.0- 30.0 μm) whereas C. aurivillii comprises two types of tylostyles - thick (479.0-632.0/31.0-31.5 μm) and thin (336.0-476.0/7.0-12.0 μm) - large sized amphiaster with branches and bifurcate tips (26.0- 59.0/3.2-3.3 μm).

Figures

Fig. 4. Cliothosa aurivilli (Lindgren, 1897). (A) in situ specimen. (B) Papillar connection with the inside body mass of sponge. (C) Space inside the dead coral bored by the sponges. (D1) Thick Tyalostyles. (D2) Thin Tyalostyles. (D3) Amphiaster. (E) Longitudinal section. (F) Transverse section.

Fig. 5. Geographical extension of Cliothosa aurivilli (Lindgren, 1897)

Fig. 1. Study Area.

Fig. 2. Spheciospongia globularis (Dendy, 1922). (A) Specimen in situ. (B) Specimen after preservation. (C1) Large sized Tylostyles. (C2) Medium sized Tylostyles. (C3) Small sized Tylostyles. (C4) Spiraster. (D) Longitudinal section. (E) Longitudinal section. (F) Transverse section.

Fig. 3. Geographical extension of Spheciospongia globularis (Dendy, 1922). © 2018 Academia Sinica, Taiwan