Mycale (Mycale) laevis ( Carter, 1882 )

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 : 57

Mycale (Mycale) laevis ( Carter, 1882)

Tables 6, 7; Figs. 51A–D , 58F

Synonymy and references: Esperia laevis Carter, (1882: 291) ; Oxymycale strongylata Pulitzer-Finali (1986: 1331) ; Mycale laevis: Laubenfels de (1936: 116), Green et al. (1986: 130), Hajdu et al. (2011: 161), and Muricy et al. (2011: 157); Esperella fusca , Esperia laevis and Mycale fusca : see references compiled in Muricy et al. (2011: 157); Mycale (Mycale) laevis: Muricy et al. (2011: 157) , Rützler et al. (2014: 69), and van Soest et al. (2017: 158).

Type locality. Venezuela .

Material examined. CNPGG-1919, Alacranes reef (22.38275°N, 89.695138°W), 6 m depth, coll. Oscar Bocardo, 25 May 2016 ; CNPGG-2273, Triangulo Este reef (20.9177°N, 92.2162°W), 12 m depth, coll. Oscar Bocardo, 11 September 2017 ; CNPGG-466, Isla Verde reef (19.19844°N, 96.06863°W), 5.5 m depth, coll. Patricia Gómez, 28 August 2018 ; CNPGG-2430, Cabezo reef (19.09752°N, 95.85616°W), 12.5 m depth, coll. Diana Ugalde, 30 August 2018 .

Distribution. Mexico ( Green et al. 1986; Gómez 2007; current records), US (Florida), Cuba, other countries in the Caribbean Sea ( Zea 1987); Brazil ( Muricy et al. 2011).

Remarks. Mycale (M.) laevis is a common species in the coral reefs of the GoM ( Green et al. 1986; Gómez 2007). Loh et al. (2012) reported orange, semi-cryptic; orange, massive; white, massive; and white, semi-cryptic specimens. Our material is orange or yellow, both when semi-cryptic (material from Triangulo Este reef) or when massive ( Isla Verde reef and Cabezo reef).

Subgenus Mycale (Arenochalina) Lendenfeld, 1887

Figures

FIGURE 51. Mycale (Mycale) laevis (Carter, 1882) (CNPGG-2273), spicules: A. mycalostyles; B. microscleres, large anisochelae, raphides and small category of sigma; C. raphides in trichrodragma large category of sigmas; D. small category of anisochelae and small category of sigma. Scale bars: A = 100 µm; B = 20 µm; C = 25 µm; D = 10 µm.

FIGURE 58. In situ photographs of species analyzed in the present study: A. Acarnus innominatus Gray, 1867 (CNPGG-2393); B. Monanchora arbuscula (Duchassaing & Michelotti, 1864) (CNPGG-2204); C. Strongylacidon bermuda (de Laubenfels, 1950) (CNPGG-2170); D. Desmapsamma anchorata (Carter, 1882) (CNPGG-2443); E. Iotrochota arenosa Rützler, Maldonado, Piantoni & Riesgo, 2007 (CNPGG-2422); F. Mycale (Mycale) laevis (Carter, 1882) (CNPGG-2273); F. Mycale (Arenochalina) laxissima (Duchassaing & Michelotti, 1864) (CNPGG-2267); H. Polymastia tenax Pulitzer-Finali, 1986 (CNPGG-22587); I. Scopalina ruetzleri (Wiedenmayer, 1977) (CNPGG-2183); J. Svenzea cristinae Alvarez, van Soest & Rützler, 2002 (CNPGG- 2474); K. Svenzea flava (Lehnert & van Soest, 1999) (CNPGG-2288); L. Svenzea tubulosa (Alcolado & Gotera, 1986) (CN- PGG-2272), surface detail zoomed in (arrow indicates white channels in the choanosomal region). Scale bars, A–L = 1 cm.