Ectyoplasia ferox ( Duchassaing & Michelotti, 1864 )

Ugalde, Diana, Fernandez, Julio C. C., Gómez, Patricia, Lôbo-Hajdu, Gisele & Simões, Nuno, 2021, An update on the diversity of marine sponges in the southern Gulf of Mexico coral reefs, Zootaxa 5031 (1), pp. 1-112 : 16-17

Ectyoplasia ferox ( Duchassaing & Michelotti, 1864)

Tables 6, 7; Figs. 9A–E , 16H–I

Synonymy and references: Amphimedon ferox Duchassaing & Michelotti (1864: 81) ; Hymeniacidon amphilecta: de Laubenfels (1936: 137) ; Ectyoplasia ferox: Gómez (2007: 59) , Hajdu et al. (2011: 140), Rützler et al. (2009: 299), Muricy et al. (2011: 149), and Rützler et al. (2014: 63); Ectyoplasia ferox surgens , see references compiled in Muricy et al. (2011: 149).

Type locality. St. Thomas .

Material examined. CNPGG-2186, CNPGG-2187, Cayo Arcas reef (20.21208°N, - 91.96083°W), 2.8–3 m depth, coll. Diana Ugalde, 18 August 2018 ; CNPGG-2200, Cayo Arcas reef (20.19566°N, - 91.95997°W), 5.9 m depth, coll. Diana Ugalde, 20 August 2018 ; CNPGG-2214, Cayo Arcas reef (20.19963°N, - 91.96680°W), 4.1 m depth, coll. Diana Ugalde, 22 August 2018 ; CNPGG-1167, Alacranes reef (22.38830°N, - 89.70244°W), 12 m depth, coll. Patricia Gómez, 8 August 2009 ; CNPGG-2220, 2240, Triangulo Oeste reef (20.96185°N, - 92.30246°W), 6 m depth, coll. Oscar Bocardo, 08 August 2018 ; CNPGG-2407, Hornos reef (19.19083°N, - 96.11777°W), 4 m depth, coll. Diana Ugalde, 27 August 2018 ; CNPGG-2411, CNPGG-2420, Isla Verde reef (19.19844°N, - 96.06863°W), 8 m depth, coll. Diana Ugalde, 28 August 2018 ; CNPGG-2436, Cabezo reef (19.05086°N, - 95.82388°W), 9.5 m depth, coll. Diana Ugalde, 30 August 2018 .

Distribution. Mexico ( Gómez 2002, 2007; De la Cruz-Francisco & Gónzalez-Gónzalez 2016; current records), Cuba ( Alcolado 2002), Bahamas, US (Florida), other countries in the Caribbean Sea, Brazil ( Hajdu et al. 2011).

Remarks. Ectyoplasia ferox is a common inhabitant of the coral reefs. It occurs around the reefs of Veracruz Reef System ( Gómez 2002, 2007), Campeche Bank Reefs (current records), and off Quintana Roo ( Maas-Vargas 2004), as well as other Caribbean countries. The species bears some colour and habit variation. Specimens can be ochre-yellow to orange, purplish, and greyish-brown, and they can inhabit variously exposed or cryptic microhabitats. According to Rützler et al. (2014), specimens from the light-exposed open reef more commonly form groups of laterally fused tubes, while those with encrusting shape seem typical for caves and other cryptic habitats. All of these have the same skeletal arrangement of plumose tracts formed by styles and clavulate acanthostyles, as well as no ectosomal specialization. For a detailed description, refer to Hajdu et al. (2011) and the references cited above.

Figures

FIGURE 9. Ectyoplasia ferox (Duchassaing & Michelotti, 1864) (CNPGG-2200), skeleton and spicules: A. transversal section of skeleton; B. detail of the ectosomal region; C. detail of the choanosomal region D. styles and clavulate acanthostyle; E. clavulate acanthostyle. Scale bars: A = 500 µm; B–C = 250 µm; D = 50 µm; E = 25 µm.

FIGURE 16. In situ photographs of species analyzed in the present study: A. Agelas clathrodes (Schmidt, 1870) (CNPGG- 2297); B. Agelas conifera (Schmidt, 1870) (CNPGG-2373); C. Agelas dispar Duchassaing & Michelotti, 1864 (CNPGG-2007); D. Agelas schmidtii Wilson, 1902 (CNPGG-2285);E. Agelas sventres Lehnert & van Soest, 1996 (CNPGG-2285); F. Agelas wiedenmayeri Alcolado, 1984 (CNPGG-2476); G. Prosuberites carriebowensis Rützler, Piantoni, van Soest & Díaz, 2014 (CNPGG-2211); H. Ectyoplasia ferox (Duchassaing & Michelotti, 1864) (CNPGG-2407); I. Ectyoplasia ferox (Duchassaing & Michelotti, 1864) (CNPGG-2240); J. Dragmacidon reticulatum (Ridley & Dendy, 1886) (CNPGG-2283); K. Ptilocaulis walpersii (Duchassaing & Michelotti, 1864) (CNPGG-2171); L. Myrmekioderma rea (de Laubenfels, 1934) (CNPGG-2261); M. Neofibularia nolitangere (Duchassaing & Michelotti, 1864) (CNPGG-2206); N. Desmanthus meandroides van Soest & Hajdu, 2000 (CNPGG-2389); O. Cliona aprica Pang, 1973 (CNPGG-2298). Scale bars, A–O = 1 cm.