Tedania (Tedania) ecuadoriensis Jaramillo & Hajdu, 2021

Jaramillo, Karla B., Condor-Lujan, Baslavi, Longakit, Belinda, Rodriguez, Jenny, Thomas, Olivier P., McCormack, Grace & Hajdu, Eduardo, 2021, New records of Demospongiae (Porifera) from Reserva Marina El Pelado (Santa Elena, Ecuador), with description of Tedania (Tedania) ecuadoriensis sp. nov., ZooKeys 1011, pp. 101-120 : 101

Tedania (Tedania) ecuadoriensis Jaramillo & Hajdu sp. nov. Figure 2A-I

Diagnosis.

Tedania (Tedania) with rather small ectosomal tylotes (139-185 µm), and choanosomal styles (127-183 µm), as well as possessing two size categories of onychaetes (71-133 and 29-69 µm).

Etymology.

Named after the country where its type locality is situated.

Type material.

Holotype: CENAIM 150813EP01-05 with fragment as MNRJ 19918, El Pelado Islet ('La Pared’, -1.932847; -80.792453), REMAPE, Santa Elena, Ecuador, 13 m deep, collected by O. Thomas, 13 Aug. 2015. Paratype: CENAIM 150825EP04-05 with fragment as MNRJ 19923, El Pelado Islet ( ‘Laberinto’, -1.9355; -80.7896), REMAPE, Santa Elena, Ecuador, 5 m deep, collected by K. Jaramillo, 25 Aug. 2015.

Habit

(Fig. 2A ). Thickly encrusting to massive (thickness: 0.3 cm). The holotype is fragmented, and the largest piece measures 0.8 × 0.4 cm. Oscula located at the top of short elevations. Consistency soft and compressible. Texture smooth. Colour in life is orange, and in ethanol it turns to violet with some red spots on the surface.

Skeleton

(Fig. 2B ). Ectosomal architecture with brushes of tylotes, some of which pierce the surface, not easily detachable from the choanosome. Choanosomal architecture a dense, confused reticulation of styles and scattered onychaetes.

Spicules.

Megascleres (Fig. 2C-F , Table 1 ): Ectosomal tylotes, 139-85 (168; n = 30); choanosomal styles, 127-183 (155; n = 35). Microscleres (Fig. 2G-I ): larger onychaetes, 71-133 (92; n = 41); smaller onychaetes, 29-69 (41; n = 25).

Ecology and distribution.

The species was found between 5-13 m depth, close to red algae, and slightly covered with sediment. No dermatitis reaction was observed after contact with bare skin.

Remarks.

Six species of Tedania were described from the Tropical Eastern Pacific ( de Laubenfels 1930; Desqueyroux-Faúndez 1990; Desqueyroux-Faúndez and van Soest 1996; Desqueyroux-Faúndez and van Soest 1997; Aguilar-Camacho et al. 2018), namely T. fulvum Aguilar-Camacho, Carballo & Cruz-Barraza, 2018; T. galapagensis Desqueyroux-Faúndez & van Soest, 1996; T. obscurata (de Laubenfels, 1930); T. tepitootehenuaensis Desqueyroux-Faúndez, 1990; T. topsenti de Laubenfels, 1930; T. toxicalis de Laubenfels, 1930 and T. tropicalis Aguilar-Camacho, Carballo & Cruz-Barraza, 2018. Tedania galapagensis was an obvious first hypothesis for the identification of the El Pelado Tedania , for its occurrence in the relatively nearby Galapagos Archipelago, but we found it to be distinct from the new species by its tylotes, styles and onychaetes, with much larger dimensions than observed in our new species. When variation of this sort occurs intraspecifically, it is the continental specimen to harbour the largest spicules, as a consequence of likely increased levels of dissolved silica in comparison to oceanic locations (for a discussion in the context of the Caribbean, see Zea (1987). Furthermore, T. galapagensis was reported from deeper waters (78 m) than those where T. ecuadoriensis sp. nov. was found (5-13 m). The species appearing closest to our material, as far as spicule micrometrics go, is the Mexican T. fulvum , that also has a set of relatively small spicules. The onychaetes, reported in a single, variable size-category, match nearly perfectly the full range observed in both categories combined of the new species. On the other hand, the coelosphaerid/hymedesmiid-kind of ectosomal tylote, with smooth, pronounced, elliptical heads, finds no match in the new species, and is seen here as decisive evidence of the non-conspecificity of both species.

Tedania ecuadoriensis sp. nov. with its short tylotes (168 µm, mean length) and styles (155 µm, mean length) is distinct from all known (sub)Tropical Eastern Pacific Tedania spp. which have these around 200 µm or bigger. Tedania ignis , a Tropical Western Atlantic species with considerable overall similarity to the new species proposed, also bears much larger megascleres and microscleres, which contradicts any hypothesis of possible conspecificity.

Figures

Figure 2. Tedania (Tedania) ecuadoriensis sp. nov. A holotype in situ (CENAIM 150813 EP 01 - 05) B transverse section of ectosomal and choanosomal skeletal architecture C ectosomal tylotes D detail of terminally microspined terminations of ectosomal tylotes E choanosomal styles F detail of the bases of choanosomal styles G large onychaetes H-I small onychaetes. Scale-bars: 2 cm (A); 500 µm (B); 50 µm (C, E, G-H); 10 µm (D, F, I).