Neopetrosia proxima ( Duchassaing & Michelotti, 1864 )

Ugalde, Diana, Fernandez, Julio C. C., Gómez, Patricia, Lôbo-Hajdu, Gisele & Simões, Nuno, 2021, An update on the diversity of marine sponges in the southern Gulf of Mexico coral reefs, Zootaxa 5031 (1), pp. 1-112 : 40

Neopetrosia proxima ( Duchassaing & Michelotti, 1864)

Tables 6, 7; Figs. 33A–C , 45A–B

Synonymy and references: Thalysias proxima Duchassaing & Michelotti (1864: 84) , and van Soest et al. (1983: 198); Densa araminta , Neofibularia proxima and Xestospongia próxima : see references compiled in Muricy et al. (2011: 106); Neopetrosia proxima, Muricy et al. (2011: 106) , Santos et al. (2016: 336), Pérez et al. (2017: 10), van Soest (2017: 35), and Vicente et al. (2019: 8).

Type locality. St. Thomas .

Material examined. CNPGG-2376, CNPGG-2264 Banco Pera reef (20.72669°N, - 91.93481°W), 20 m depth, coll. Oscar Bocardo, 15 September 2017.

Description. Habit elongate or massive. The size of the specimen with an elongate habit (CNPGG-2264, Fig. 45A ), ca. 20 × 6 × 2 cm. The larger massive specimen (CNPGG-2376, Fig. 45B ), ca. 20 ×10 × 2 cm. Surface microhispid and undulated. Oscules are slightly aligned (elongate specimen) or scattered (massive specimen). Color in vivo pale orange, pinkish-beige, or brownish-beige preserved in ethanol. The consistency is hard but friable.

Skeleton. Ectosome is not easily detachable, and the tangential skeleton shows a rounded mesh; ca. 150–200 µm in diameter ( Fig. 33A ). Choanosome with a similar skeleton arrangement to the ectosomal skeleton. The choanosomal region with wide channels; up to 1500 µm width ( Fig. 33B ).

Spicules. Megascleres: Oxeas, slightly curved ( Fig. 33C ); 132– 147 (10)–165/7– 9.2 (1.3)–12 µm.

Distribution. Mexico (current records), US (Florida); other countries in the Caribbean Sea, Guyana, and Brazil ( van Soest 2017).

Remarks. Only two species of Neopetrosia have been reported in the northern GoM, N. carbonaria and N. subtriangularis ( Rützler et al. 2009) . N. subtriangularis has been also reported in the southern section of the GoM (e.g., Green 1977; Green et al. 1986; Gómez 2007). Neopetrosia proxima has also been reported in Guyana by van Soest (2017). Our study is the first record of N. proxima for the GoM, since it has not been recorded in any recent revision study of sponges from the region ( Gómez 2007; Rützler et al. 2009; Ugalde et al. 2015).

Figures

FIGURE 33. Neopetrosia proxima Duchassaing & Michelotti, 1864 (CNPGG-2264), skeleton and spicules: A. tangential section of the skeleton of the ectosomal region; B. transversal section of the skeleton; C. oxeas. Scale bars: A–B = 500 µm; C = 50 µm.

FIGURE 45. In situ photographs of species analyzed in the present study: A. Neopetrosia proxima Duchassaing & Michelotti, 1864 (CNPGG-2264); B. Neopetrosia proxima Duchassaing & Michelotti, 1864 (CNPGG-2376); C. Neopetrosia subtriangularis (Duchassaing, 1850) (CNPGG-2435); D. Petrosia (Petrosia) weinbergi van Soest, 1980 (CNPGG-2434). E. Xestospongia muta (Schmidt, 1870) (CNPGG-2230); F. Siphonodictyon xamaycaense Pulitzer-Finali, 1986 (CNPGG-2441), arrows pointing to fistules; G. Siphonodictyon xamaycaense Pulitzer-Finali, 1986 (CNPGG-2432); H. Clathria (Clathria) foliacea Topsent, 1889 (CNPGG-2172), its stem is covered by algae; I. Clathria (Clathria) gomezae van Soest, 2017 (CNPGG-2231); J. Clathria (Thalysias) venosa (Alcolado, 1984) (CNPGG-2410); K. Clathria (Thalysias) virgultosa (Esper, 1806) (CNPGG-2357). Scale bars, A–K = 1 cm.