Axinellidae Carter, 1875

Łukowiak, Magdalena, Pisera, Andrzej & Stefanska, Tetiana, 2019, Uncovering the hidden diversity of Paleogene sponge fauna of the East European Platform through reassessment of the record of isolated spicules, Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 64 (4), pp. 871-895 : 882

Family Axinellidae Carter, 1875 Axinellidae indet.

Fig. 5Q–T.

Material.—Middle–upper Eocene, south-central Ukraine.

Remarks. —Among the illustrated spicules, the 200–480 μm long flexuous oxeas ( Fig. 5Q–T) may show axinellid affinities. However, flexuous oxeas are also characteristic for the heteroscleromorph family Bubaridae (compare Alvarez and van Soest 2002). Still, owing to the general shape and thickness of the discussed spicules, their attribution to Axinellidae is more likely.