Paratetilla bacca (Selenka, 1867)

Putra, Singgih Afifa, Ambo-Rappe, Rohani, Jompa, Jamaluddin & de Voogd, Nicole J., 2024, Preliminary study of marine sponges (Porifera) in the littoral of Spermonde Archipelago, Indonesia, ZooKeys 1208, pp. 275-313 : 275-313

Paratetilla bacca (Selenka, 1867)

Fig. 23

Diagnostic features.

Globular sponges, specimen ≈ 64 × 47 mm (l × w) in diameter. Porocalices are abundant as circular to oval apertures. Color generally bright yellow when alive with brownish appearance in situ due to algal and sediment cover. Skeleton composed of oxea and triaenes radiating from a central core. Megascleres are oxeas, anatriaenes, and calthrops-like. Microscleres are sigmaspires, C- to S-shaped. A complete redescription of P. bacca was provided recently ( Santodomingo and Becking 2018). This species had a considerable variation in spicules sizes in the different localities as well as significant intra-specific variation. This variation could be a response to different environmental conditions, a consequence of genetic selection, or synergistic between ecological and genetic factors.

Distribution and ecology.

Seychelles Islands ( Thomas 1973), south-west Madagascar ( Vacelet et al. 1976), Zanzibar ( Pulitzer-Finali 1993), Thailand ( Putchakarn 2007), Singapore ( Lim et al. 2012), Philippines ( Longakit et al. 2005), and Indonesia ( Santodomingo and Becking 2018). Our specimen was collected from Gusung Tallang Island, the Spermonde Archipelago; turbid environment.

Figures

Figure 23. Habitus in situ of Paratetilla bacca (Selenka, 1867) at Gusung Tallang, the Spermonde Archipelago (photograph by SAP).