Dragmaxia undata Alvarez

Rützler, Klaus, Piantoni, Carla, Van, Rob W. M. & Díaz, Cristina, 2014, Diversity of sponges (Porifera) from cryptic habitats on the Belize barrier reef near Carrie Bow Cay, Zootaxa 3805 (1), pp. 1-129 : 71

Dragmaxia undata Alvarez , van Soest & Rützler, 1998

Synonymy and references. Dragmaxia undata Alvarez , van Soest & Rützler, 1998: Alvarez et al. (1998): 26 (with synonyms).

Material. USNM 1229073, Carrie Bow forereef slope, 15–35 m; coral rock, underside. K. Ruetzler col. 26 April 1974. USNM 1229074, Carrie Bow reef flat, underside of corrugated roofing tile, 0.5 m; K, Ruetzler col. 1 May 1974. USNM 1191336, Off Curlew Bank, forereef cave, 20 m; C. Piantoni col. 2 Jul 2007. USNM 1229075, Carrie Bow forereef cave wall, 25 m; M. C. Diaz col. 8 Sep 2009.

Comparative material: USNM 39451; paratype from Curaçao.

External morphology. Crusts and cushions, 4–30 cm 2, up to 10 mm thick, with corrugated, hispid surface. Brittle, bright orange red in life.

Skeleton structure. Tracts of styles leading toward surface and protruding from the ectosome. Criss-cross arrangement of styles and abundant trichodragmas in between.

Spicules. Styles and subtylostyles of great size range, gently curved, some with subterminal asymmetrical swellings: 300– 1280 x 7–28 (890 x 16) Μm; raphids, making up trichodragmas, are 60–600 x>1–2 (254 x 1) Μm; they have fine spines near the ends, pointing back toward the shaft.

Ecology. In cave habitats, including the lower surface of platy (coral) rubble, 0.5– 35 m.

Distribution. Known from the Netherlands Antilles and Colombia, now also from Belize.

Comments. The mean dimension of spicules in our material are larger than those in one paratype we examined (USNM 39451) but they still fall within the ranges of length and width. The great length of some raphids (bundled in trichodragmas) is unusual for known sponges.