Pseudoceratina purpurea ( Carter, 1880 )

Calcinai, Barbara, Belfiore, Giuseppe, Pica, Daniela, Torsani, Fabrizio, Palma, Marco & Cerrano, Carlo, 2020, Porifera from Ponta do Ouro (Mozambique), European Journal of Taxonomy 698, pp. 1-56 : 6-7

Pseudoceratina purpurea ( Carter, 1880)

Fig. 3

Aplysina purpurea Carter, 1880: 36 .

Material examined

PONTA DO OURO • two fragments of about 5×2 ×2 and 6 ×3× 3 cm; 26°49′17.512″ S, 32°53′42.514″ E; Kev’s; 23.4 m deep; 3 Feb. 2017; Cerrano leg.; PO4 • 1 spec.; Jenny’s Paradise; 26°46′50.336″ S, 32°54′12.329″ E; 17.8 m deep; 12 Apr. 2017; Cerrano leg.; PO97 .

Description

The live specimens are massively encrusting ( Fig. 3A ) or massively, irregularly spherical ( Fig. 3B ). They have an uneven surface with scattered, small, sharp conules and prominent oscula ( Fig. 3B ). The

live sponge is light yellow ( Fig. 3 A–B); the alcohol-preserved specimens become dark purple, and have a smooth and irregular surface. The consistence is tough.

SKELETON. Spongin fibers scarcely developed, the choanosome is collagenous.

Remarks

The specimens belong to the genus Pseudoceratina Carter, 1885 due to the fibrous, dendritic skeleton and to the dense and collagenous matrix. There are four valid species in this genus, all with an Indo- Pacific distribution ( Van Soest et al. 2019). Pseudoceratina arabica ( Keller, 1889) contains abundant fibers and is characterized by high conules; P. durissima Carter, 1885 has been recorded in south-east Australia and shows a blue-black live color, with a smooth surface. Pseudoceratina verrucosa Bergquist, 1995 differs in its strongly verrucose surface and thicker fibers.

The specimens fit perfectly with the original description of Pseudoceratina purpurea ( Carter, 1880) in the general morphology and in the scarcely developed fibers. More recent, complete description and illustrations are available in Bergquist (1965: 135, fig. 6, as Psammaplysilla purpurea ).

The species is widely distributed in the Indo-Pacific Ocean and has been already recorded in Madagascar ( Vacelet et al. 1976).

Figures

Fig. 3. Pseudoceratina purpurea (Carter, 1880). A. Encrusting specimen in situ (PO4). B. Massive specimen in situ (PO97).