Spirastrella aff. decumbens Ridley, 1884

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

Spirastrella aff. decumbens Ridley, 1884

Fig. 5

Diagnostic features.

A thin encrusting sponge with a soft texture and a smooth surface. The living specimens exhibit a salmon-pink or orangish color. The ectosome of the sponge contains numerous microscleres (spirasters), forming the characteristic tangential crust found in this genus. In the choanosome, the megascleres are irregularly arranged tylostyles with well-formed, usually spherical heads ( Calcinai et al. 2006). Our specimen shows spirasters with ornamented rays (Fig. 5 d ) that are not mentioned in the Calcinai et al. (2006) report from Vietnam.

Distribution and ecology.

This species is present in the Australian region, New Caledonia, the Philippines, and Vietnam. In Indonesia is recorded from Ambon; this is a first record for the Spermonde Archipelago (Langkai Island; reef flat).

Figures

Figure 5. Spirastrella aff. decumbens Ridley, 1884, overgrowing coral skeleton a habitus in situ (CEL 007) from seagrass bed of Langkai Island, the Spermonde Archipelago (photograph by NJdeV) b SEM image of tylostyle with c close up of the head d spirasters e spirasters with ornamented rays.