Aplysina insularis ( 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 : 90

Aplysina insularis ( Duchassaing & Michelotti, 1864)

Tables 6, 7; Figs. 83A–B , 88H

Synonymy and references: Luffaria insularis Duchassaing & Michelotti (1864: 61) , and Muricy et al. (2011: 176); Aplysina fistularis f. fistularis : see references compiled in Pinheiro et al. (2007: 21), and Muricy et al. (2011: 176); Aplysina fistularis insularis: Green et al. (1986: 140) , Aplysina insulares (misspelling), see references compiled in Muricy et al. (2011: 176); Aplysina insularis: Pinheiro et al. (2007: 21) , Hajdu et al. (2011: 233), Muricy et al. (2011: 176) Rützler et al. (2009: 307), Pérez et al. (2017: 9), and Van Soest (2017: 209).

Type locality. St. Thomas .

Material examined. CNPGG-2255, Triangulo Oeste reef (20.95178°N, 92.30963°W), 23 m depth, coll. Oscar Bocardo, 09 September 2017 ; CNPGG-2268, Triangulo Oeste reef (20.96073°N, 92.30751°W), 19 m depth, coll. Oscar Bocardo, 10 September 2017 .

Distribution. Mexico ( Green et al. 1986 as A. fistularis insularis, De la Cruz-Francisco & Bandala-Pérez 2016 , current records), Bermuda, Bahamas, US (Florida), other countries in the Caribbean Sea, Brazil ( Pinheiro et al. 2007).

Remarks. Our specimens conform in all aspects to Aplysina insularis . The species with the closest morphology to Aplysina insularis is Aplysina muricyana Pinheiro, Hajdu & Custódio, 2007 from das Rocas atoll (off northeastern Brazil). Both consist of groups of short and anastomosed tubes with apical oscules up to 1 cm in diameter, and soft consistency. However, they differ in the contour of the tube, lobate, often widening toward their apices (somewhat infundibuliform) with fairly smooth surface in A. insularis , and tubes with a polygonal contour bearing edges extending longitudinally in A. muricyana . Color when alive, golden yellow or brown in A. insularis , turning black after preservation in ethanol. Beige in A. muricyana , but green, brown-beige and red tinges are also common, turning from beige to brown when preserved in ethanol.

Figures

FIGURE 83. Aplysina insularis (Duchassaing & Michelotti, 1864) (CNPGG-2255), skeleton and fibers: A. skeleton; B. detail of fibers and pith. Scale bars: A = 1000 µm; B = 200 µm

FIGURE 88. In situ photographs of species analyzed in the present study: A. Aiolochroia crassa (Hyatt, 1875) (CNPGG 2250); B. Aiolochroia crassa (Hyatt, 1875) (CNPGG 2205); C. Aplysina cauliformis (Carter, 1882), specimen from Alacranes reef (Campeche Bank), not collected; D. Aplysina fistularis (Pallas, 1766) (CNPGG-1235); E. Aplysina fistularis (Pallas, 1766) (CNPGG-1381); F. Aplysina fulva (Pallas, 1766) (CNPGG-2361); G. Aplysina fulva (Pallas, 1766) (CNPGG-1961); H. Aplysina insularis (Duchassaing & Michelotti, 1864) (CNPGG-2255); I. Aplysina lacunosa (Lamarck, 1814) (CNPGG-1395); J. Suberea flavolivescens (Hofman & Kielman, 1992) (CNPGG-2169), arrows indicating specimens and surface detail zoomed in; K. Chondrilla caribensis Rützler, Duran & Piantoni, 2007 (CNPGG-2405); L. Chondrosia collectrix (Schmidt, 1870) (CNPGG- 2228). Scale bars, A–L = 1