Geodia gibberosa Lamarck, 1815

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 : 75-76

Geodia gibberosa Lamarck, 1815

Tables 6, 7; Figs. 68A–D , 70M

Synonymy and references: Geodia gibberosa Lamarck (1815: 334) , Hajdu et al. (2011: 86), Muricy et al. (2011: 47) Rützler et al. (2014:25), and van Soest (2017: 93); Geodia cariboea Duchassaing & Michelotti (1864: 14) , and van Soest et al. (1983: 201); Pyxitis gibberosa Schmidt (1870: 70) ; Geodia (Geodia) gibberosa Hechtel (1965: 68) , Wiedenmayer (1977: 178), and Lehnert (1993: 63); Geodia flexisclera Pulitzer-Finali (1986: 76) ; Geodia tuberosa Schweigger (1819: 40) .

Type locality. Guyana .

Material examined. CNPGG-2266, Triangulos Oeste reef (20.95629°N, 92.30860°W), 7.1 m depth, coll. Oscar Bocardo, 10 September 2017 ; CNPGG-2291, Banco Obispo Norte reef (20.49466°N, 92.20378°W), 16 m depth, coll. Oscar Bocardo, 13 September 2017 .

Distribution. Mexico ( Topsent 1889; current records), Bermuda, Bahamas, other countries in the Caribbean Sea, Guyana, Brazil ( van Soest 2017).

Remarks. Geodia gibberosa has been shown to be a species complex based on molecular phylogenetic analysis ( Cárdenas et al. 2011). The same results have been suggested in morphological analysis ( Cárdenas et al. 2009). However, Cárdenas et al.’s (2011; Figure 2 ) results have shown that a specimen from Mexico is sister to another from Belize. There are essential morphological differences in G. gibberosa based on morphological analysis ( Cárdenas et al. 2009), this is shown in a particular specimen from Florida with more regular gross morphology and smaller sterrasters with a different rosette pattern (op.cit. details therein).Another morphological observation of Cárdenas et al. (2009) was the presence of anatriaenes in a Panamanian individual, but this latter character is questioned by van Soest (2017), who mentions that the holotype lacks anatriaenes. Tetractine spines were also rare in the material of Cárdenas et al. (2009). Our specimens have a massive habit and absent anatriaenes.

Geodia gibberosa is widely distributed in tropical and subtropical areas of the West Atlantic, from North Carolina, USA (35° N) to Brazil (25° S) ( Muricy et al. 2011). In the GoM, G. gibberosa has been reported from the northern ( Schmidt 1870) and the southern region ( Topsent 1889; present work). In the SGoM the species is common in coral reefs.

Figures

FIGURE 2. Agelas clathrodes (Schmidt, 1870) (CNPGG-2297), skeleton and spicules:A. transversal section of the skeleton; B. detail of the ectosomal region, upper side; C. verticillated acanthostyles. Scale bars: A = 500 µm; B = 100 µm; C = 50 µm.

FIGURE 68. Geodia gibberosa Lamarck, 1815 (CNPGG-2291), skeleton and spicules:A. transversal section of the skeleton; B. megascleres (oxeas and plagiotriaenes) and microscleres (sterrasters), arrows pointing to cortical small oxeas; C. cortical small oxea and sterrraster; D. oxyaster and spheroxyasters. Scale bars: A–B = 500 µm; C = 25 µm; D = 50 µm.

FIGURE 70. In situ photographs of species analyzed in the present study: A. Svenzea tubulosa (Alcolado & Gotera, 1986), B. Svenzea zeai (Alvarez, van Soest & Rützler, 1998) (CNPGG-2284); C. Hymeniacidon caerulea Pulitzer-Finali, 1986 (CNPGG- 2425); D. Topsentia ophiraphidites (de Laubenfels, 1934) (CNPGG-2185); E. Topsentia ophiraphidites (de Laubenfels, 1934) (CNPGG-2262); F. Topsentia ophiraphidites (de Laubenfels, 1934) (CNPGG-2415); G. Tectitethya crypta de Laubenfels, 1949 (CNPGG-2176); H. Tectitethya macrostella Sarà & Bavestrello, 1996 (CNPGG-2277); I. Tethya diploderma Schmidt, 1870 (CNPGG-2191); J. Timea stenosclera Hechtel, 1969 (CNPGG-2275); K. Timea stenosclera Hechtel, 1969 (CNPGG-2358), surface detail zoomed in (arrow indicates a specimen of Chalinula aff. molitba); L. Stellettinopsis megastylifera (Wintermann- Kilian & Kilian, 1984) (CNPGG-2446); M. Geodia gibberosa Lamarck, 1815 (CNPGG-2291); N. Geodia neptuni (Sollas, 1886) (CNPGG-2439). Scale bars, A–N = 1 cm.