Tedania (Tedania) strongylostylota Kennedy & Hooper, 2000

Van, Rob W. M., Kaiser, Kirstie L. & Syoc, Robert Van, 2011, Sponges from Clipperton Island, East Pacific, Zootaxa 2839, pp. 1-46 : 24-26

Tedania (Tedania) strongylostylota Kennedy & Hooper, 2000

( Figs 10 A–E)

Tedania (Tedania) strongylostylota Kennedy & Hooper, 2000: 447 , fig. 1.

Material examined. MNHN DCL 4045–A, Jean-Louis Etienne Expédition Clipperton 2005, station 13, 33 m, on dead corals, 18–01–2005, 5 specimens.

MNHN DCL 4053–B, Jean-Louis Etienne Expédition Clipperton 2005, station and depth not recorded, on dead corals, 1 specimen.

MNHN DCL 4054–B, Jean-Louis Etienne Expédition Clipperton 2005, station 8, 15 m, on dead corals, 14–01– 2005, 1 specimen.

MNHN DCL 4056–B, Jean-Louis Etienne Expédition Clipperton 2005, station 16, 55 m, on dead antipatharians, 01–2005, several specimens. ( Fig. 10 A).

Description. Thickly encrusting, up to 0.5 cm thick and several cm in lateral expansion, with irregular but smooth surface ( Fig. 10 A). No oscules apparent. Whitish in alcohol. Consistency soft.

Skeleton. Irregular reticulation of megascleres leading to an ill-developed surface skeleton. Megascleres of choanosome and ectosome at first glance differing only in the spined apices of the latter.

Spicules. Tylotes, strongylotylotes, onychaetes.

Tylotes ( Fig. 10 B) with slightly swollen, microspined apices, overal smooth and straight, 195– 221.7 –236 x 2.5– 3.8 –5 µm (heads 4.5– 5.3 –6.5 µm).

Strongylotylotes ( Fig. 10 C), anisotylote with one end slightly swollen but smooth, the other end of the same thickness as the shaft, 207– 225.4 –238 x 4 – 5.2 –8 µm (swollen end 4.5– 6.1 –9 µm).

Onychaetes, asymmetric style-shaped, in two non-overlapping size categories: (1, Fig. 10 D) 121– 152.1 –177 x 1 – 1.8 –2.5 µm, (2, Fig. 10 E) 21– 45.3 – 66 x 0.5–1 µm.

Ecology and distribution. On dead corals and antipatharians in a wide depth range; known from Île Clipperton and Vanuatu.

Remarks. Our specimens differ slightly from the type specimen of T. (T.) strongylostylota from Vanuatu in having one end of the strongylotylotes slightly swollen whereas these of the type are not swollen at one end, merely asymmetrical. Also the second onychaete category differs in the maximum length (up to 66 µm in our material, up to 103 µm in the type, although the average lengths are closely similar). It nevertheless appears closest to our material and specific distinction appears unlikely in view of spicular similarity. Its origin in Vanuatu suggests a possible colonization of Clipperton from the west. Like in the type material the principal megascleres of our specimens differ from Chinese T. (T.) strongyla in being asymmetrical.

The species belongs to a group of small-spiculed Tedania (Tedania) species with choanosomal styles modified to strongylote forms, such as Tedania (Tedania) brasiliensis Mothes et al., 2000 and Tedania (Tedania) strongyla Jinhe, 1986 . They appear to have the ectosomal and choanosomal spicules similar in length and thickness, while the onychaetes are predominantly in two size categories roughly between 100–200 and 40–80 µm.

Tedania species reported from geographically closer areas such as Galápagos ( Tedania (Tedania) galapagensis Desqueyroux-Faúndez & Van Soest, 1997, Easter Island Tedania (Tedania) tepitootehenuaensis Desqueyroux- Faúndez, 1990, Mexican Tedania (Tedania) nigrescens sensu Green & Gómez, 1986 (not: Schmidt, 1862), Californian Tedania (Tedania) obscurata ( De Laubenfels, 1930 as Tedanione ), Tedania (Tedania) topsenti De Laubenfels, 1930 , and Tedania (Tedania) toxicalis De Laubenfels, 1930 , differ clearly in having normal choanosomal styles. This also applies to several Tedania species reported from various Pacific locations by Thiele (1903), Hentschel (1912), Hoshino (1981) and Bergquist & Fromont (1988).

Figures

FIGURE 10. Tedania (Tedania) strongylostylota Kennedy & Hooper, 2000, sample 4056 – B, A. habit of specimen growing on antipatharian stalks, B. choanosomal strongylotylote with details of apices, C. ectosomal tylote and details of microspined apices, D. large onychaete and details of apices, E. small onychaete and detail of anterior apex.