Smenospongia flavia, 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 : 33

3. Smenospongia flavia n. sp. ( Fig. 3 )

Type specimen. Holotype ( NIBRIV0000321367 ), Korea: Gyeongsangbuk-do, Ulleung-gun, Ulleungdo Island (Neunggul), 23 Oct 2001, Lee KJ, by SCUBA diving, Depth 20 m, deposited in the NIBR.

Description. Thick mass, size up to 9 × 8 × 3 cm. Surface with low round conules, honeycomb pattern. Rare oscules, 1 mm in diameter. Colour in life orange yellow turns to dark brown. Texture firm and compressible. Sponge with many large sands and other animals in their body.

Skeleton: Primary fibres, 250-400 μm in diameter, dark brown colour. Fasciculated primary fibres uncored. Secondary fibres, 50-120 μm in diameter, light colour, thin, uncored, and regularly arranged with reticulated network.

Etymology. The specific name, flavia , is named after yellow colour in life.

Remark. This new species easily distinguished with other smenospongian by regular skeletal structure. This new species is smilar to genus Dactylospongia in yellow colour in life but differs in changing colour in the air. This new species changes its colour to dark brown, but genus Dactylospongia changes to dark purple or reddish brown.

Figures

Fig. 3. Smenospongia flavia n. sp. A, entire animal; B, closed surface; C, surface skeletal structure; D, choanosome skeletal structure; E, closed primary fibre; F, skeletal structure. Scale bars:A=2 cm, C, D=200μm, E=100 μm, F=200μm.