Ircinia schulzei ( Dendy, 1905 )

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

Ircinia schulzei ( Dendy, 1905)

Fig. 25

Diagnostic features.

Specimen attached to hard substrate, cylindrical with irregular short or club-shaped branches and rugose surface. Color in life is pale green and pale white in alcohol. Small oscula are found in every branch, sometimes on the tip. Skeleton is laminated fiber. Irciniidae are massive, or occasionally encrusting, sponges that display a wide range of forms, e. g., caliculate, lamelliform, lobate, and digitate. The species of Ircinia are pithed and laminated with primary and secondary fibers ( de C. Cook and Bergquist 1999).

Distribution and ecology.

Ircinia schulzei was first described from Ceylon ( Sri Lanka today; Dendy 1905). A previous record from Papua New Guinea ( Pulitzer-Finali and Pronzato 1999) and this new record in the Spermonde Archipelago shows that the species could be widespread in the Indo-Pacific region. Our specimen was found living between an anemone and other sponges on top of a rock in the reef flat of north-west of Samalona Island, the Spermonde Archipelago.

Figures

Figure 25. Habitus in situ of Ircinia schulzei (Dendy, 1905) at Samalona Island, the Spermonde Archipelago (photograph by SAP).