Smenospongia dokdoensis, Sim & Lee & Kim, 2016

Sim, Chung Ja, Lee, Kyung Jin & Kim, Young A, 2016, Twelve new species of two genera Smenospongia and Cacospongia (Demospongia: Dictyoceratida: Thorectidae) from Korea, Journal of Species Research 5 (1), pp. 31-48 : 36-37

5. Smenospongia dokdoensis n. sp. ( Fig. 5 )

Type specimen. Holotype ( NIBRIV0000321369 ), Korea: Gyeongsangbuk-do, Ulleung-gun, Ulleung-eup, Dokdo Island , 10 Oct 2008, SCUBA diving, Depth 15-25 m, deposited in the NIBR.

Description. Thick encrusting, size up to 9 × 5 × 1 cm.

Surface with low sharp counles and honeycomb pattern. Several oscules, 1-2 mm in diameter, open at surface of sponge. Surface colour, dark brown. Texture firm and compressible.

Skeleton: Regularly arranged primary fibres, 100-300 μm in diameter, cored with spicules but invisible except end of primary fibres near surface. Secondary fibres, 50- 100 μm in diameter.

Etymology. The specific name, dokdoensis , is named after locality Dokdo, Korea.

Remark. This new species is very different from other species, in regularly arranged primary and secondary fibres. All fibres are uncored but end of primary fibres near the surface are cored with spicules.

Figures

Fig. 5. Smenospongia dokdoensis n. sp. A, entire animal; B, closed surface; C, D, surface skeletal structure; E, choanosome skeletal struc- ture; F, end of primary fibres cored spicules. Scale bars:A=2 cm, C-E=200 μm, F=100μm.