Lycopodina robusta, (LEVINSEN, 1887)

Hestetun, Jon Thomassen, Tompkins-Macdonald, Gabrielle & Rapp, Hans Tore, 2017, A review of carnivorous sponges (Porifera: Cladorhizidae) from the Boreal North Atlantic and Arctic, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 181, pp. 1-69 : 51-52

LYCOPODINA ROBUSTA ( LEVINSEN, 1887)

( FIG. 39; TABLE 6)

Original description: Esperella cupressiformis var. robusta Levinsen, 1887: 364 .

Synonyms and citations: Possibly: Esperia bihamatifera in part ( Hansen, 1885: 15); Asbestopluma cupressiformis in part ( Lundbeck, 1905: 58; Hentschel, 1929: 934; Koltun, 1959: 77, 1964: 151, 163); A. cuppressiformis [sic] ( Burton, 1934: 27), Cladorhiza cupressiformis ( Fristedt, 1887: 457) ; Esperella fristedtii in part Lambe, 1900a: 157. Not: Esperia cupressiformis Carter, 1874: 215 .

Material examined: GeoBio 2009, st. AGT-02 (73°35.19ʹN, 007°44.08ʹE, 2387 m, between Loki’s Castle vent field and the Schultz Massif Seamount).

52 J. T. HESTETUN ET AL.

Diagnosis: Erect elongated Lycopodina with stem and cylindrical to club-shaped body with ridges or upwards directed projections. Megascleres c. 450–900 µm, palmate anisochelae c. 20–27 µm and forceps spicules c. 22–44 µm.

Description: Single specimen 11 cm in length; a 2.5-cm-long and 1.5-mm-wide stem connected to a clearly delineated 8.5 cm long up to 5 mm wide cylindrical, ridged body. Fastened to the substrate with slightly enlarged basal plate. Surface uneven, with wispy ridges, knobs and short projection in all directions, oriented mostly upwards. White, globular embryos visible just beneath surface. Colour in ethanol is light brown ( Fig. 39A, B).

Skeleton : Stem consisting of closely packed styles which become shorter and more curved in the basal plate. In the body, styles project in an upwards pattern radiating from the central stem. Palmate anisochelae are abundant in the sponge body, forceps spicules less abundant. Tylostyles and smaller anisochelae are associated with embryos.