Raspailia (Raspaxilla) hymani ( Dickinson, 1945 )

Aguilar-Camacho, Jose Maria & Carballo, Jose Luis, 2013, Raspailiidae (Porifera: Demospongiae: Axinellida) from the Mexican Pacific Ocean with the description of seven new species, Journal of Natural History (J. Nat. Hist.) 47 (25 - 28), pp. 1663-1706 : 1668-1672

Raspailia (Raspaxilla) hymani ( Dickinson, 1945)

( Figures 1B , 4 , 5 )

Hemectyon hymani Dickinson, 1945 ; Green and Bakus, 1994:41–42.

Aulospongus hymani Desqueyroux-Faúndez and van Soest, 1997:442 .

Raspailia (Raspaxilla) hymani Hooper et al. 1999:685–687 .

Endectyon (Endectyon) hymani Lee et al. 2007:35 .

Material examined

Holotype: L35546 D-37, 03 / 03 / 1937, Isla Partida Cabo San Lucas ( MEX) 138 m VELERO 618–37 (No data). AHF-R-213 ( Dickinson 1945) . Additional material: AHF-R-214; 26 / 02 / 1941, Isla Cedros Baja California ( MEX) 28 ◦ 5.7 ′ N, 15 ◦ 31.2 ′ W, R / V VELERO III 117–119 m.

Description

Fan-shaped sponge 8–10 cm high and 3–6 cm in diameter. Surface hispid with unevenly distributed spicule projections. Oscules and ostia not observed. Consistency hard and difficult to tear. Colour in preservation green or yellow ( Figure 1B ).

Skeleton

Straight or curved choanosomal styles: 1150–1720 × 25–50 µm ( Figures 4A , 5A ). Microspined rhabdostyles in two categories: the first long, curved and with prominent spines: 280–560 × 25–40 µm ( Figures 4B , 5B ); the second curved, with a pronounced head and with short spines: 130–260 × 7.5–15 µm ( Figures 4C , 5C ). Straight and curved ectosomal styles: 235–425 × 1.75–2.5 µm ( Table 3) ( Figures 4D , 5D ). The ectosomal skeleton is a dense layer of spongin (100 µm thick). The styles are dispersed with no special organization. There is a subectosomal extra-axial compressed skeleton formed by the rhabdostyles with the points protruding externally. The choanosomal skeleton has an axial organization of primary multispicular ascendant fibres (300–600 µm thick) interconnected by secondary multispicular fibres (100–250 µm thick). The reticulum forms rectangular irregular meshes (200–300 µm). The rhabdostyles II are echinating the primary fibres ( Figure 5E ).

Remarks

Raspailia (Raspaxilla) hymani ( Dickinson 1945) is a deep-sea species from the West Pacific coast of the Baja California Peninsula. The holotype was considered lost by Hooper et al. (1999), but this material was found in the Allan Hancock Collection. Dickinson (1945) reported one category of rhabdostyles; however, the material examined (including the holotype) has two categories. This species was originally described in the genus Hemectyon ( Dickinson 1945) , but Desqueyroux-Faúndez and van Soest (1997) moved this species into the genus Aulospongus . Later, Hooper et al. (1999) transferred this species to the subgenus Raspaxilla (genus Raspailia ). The morphological difference between these genera is the choanosomal skeleton: axial extra-axially compressed in Raspailia (Raspaxilla) and a reticulum of compressed primary fibre bundles in Aulospongus .

Figures

Figure 1. Photographs of preserved sponges from this study. (A) Raspailia (Parasyringella) rubra sp. nov. (B) Raspailia (Raspaxilla) hymani (Dickinson 1945). (C) Raspailia (Raspaxilla) hyle (de Laubenfels 1930). (D) Aulospongus cerebella (Dickinson 1945). (E) Aulospongus californianus sp. nov. (F) Aulospongus aurantiacus sp. nov. Scale bars: 1 cm (A, D, F); 2 cm (C, E); 4 cm (B).

Figure 4. Raspailia (Raspaxilla) hymani (Dickinson 1945). Scanning electron microscopy images of spicules. (A) Choanosomal style; (B) rhabdostyle microspined I; (C) rhabdostyle microspined II; (D) ectosomal style. Scale bars: 60 µm (A), 100 µm (B, D), 40 µm (C).

Figure 5. Drawings of Raspailia (Raspaxilla) hymani (Dickinson 1945). (A) Choanosomal style; (B) rhabdostyles microspined I; (C) rhabdostyles microspined II; (D) ectosomal style thin; (E) ectosomal skeleton (extra-axial) and choanosomal skeleton (axial). Scale bars: 100 µm (A–D), 250 µm (E).