Tethya Lamarck, 1814

Ribeiro, Suzi M. & Muricy, Guilherme, 2004, Four new sympatric species of Tethya (Demospongiae: Hadromerida) from Abrolhos Archipelago (Bahia State, Brazil), Zootaxa 557, pp. 1-16 : 3

Genus Tethya Lamarck, 1814

Synonymy. Tethya Lamarck, 1814: 71 ; Selenka, 1880: 472; Lendenfeld, 1888: 48; Sollas, 1888: 427; Thiele, 1898: 11. Donatia Nardo, 1833: 522 ; Lyncuria Nardo, 1833: 715; Amniscos Gray, 1867: 549 ; Alemo Wright, 1881: 16 ; Tethyorrhaphis Lendenfeld, 1888: 51 ; Tethycordyla de Laubenfels, 1934: 8; Taboga de Laubenfels, 1936: 452.

Definition. Spherical, sometimes hemispherical body with a well developed cortex, distinct from the choanosome (medulla), more or less dense or lacunar. Main skeleton formed by bundles of strongyloxeas radiating from the center of the sponge and hispidating the generally flattened, sometimes conical, tubercles of the surface. The whole choanosome or its periphery may be filled by thinner auxiliary megascleres which also accompany the distal brushes of megascleres in the tubercles. Main megascleres are usually strongyloxeas, interstitial (auxiliary) megascleres are often styles. Megasters and micrasters are variously distributed in the cortex an in choanosome. Megasters are spherasters or oxyspherasters. Micrasters are tylasters, strongylasters or oxyasters, normally with spined rays. In some species these are accompanied by microrhabds ( Sarà 2002).

Type species. Tethya aurantium Pallas, 1766 .