Ircinia strobilina ( Lamarck, 1816 )

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 : 83

Ircinia strobilina ( Lamarck, 1816)

Tables 6, 7; Figs. 76A–B , 79F–G

Synonymy and references: Spongia strobilina Lamarck (1816: 363) , and Muricy et al. (2011: 59); Dysidicinia longispina , Felifera verrucosa , Hircinia (Dysidicinia) longispina , Hircinia (Psammocinia) verrucosa , Hircinia acuta , Hircinia acuta var. filamenta , Hircinia acuta var. longispina , Hircinia acuta var. nigra , Hircinia strobilina , Hircinia verrucosa , Ircinia acuta , Ircinia acuta var. longispina , Ircinia verrucosa , Polytherses capitata , Polytherses cylindrica , Polytherses ignobilis , Polytherses linguiformis : see references compiled in WPD ( van Soest et al. 2021); Hircinia longispina , Ircinia longispina , Polytherses longispina , Stelospongus longispinus , and Stellospongus longispinus : see references compiled in Muricy et al. (2011: 59); Ircinia strobilina, Gómez & Green (1984:69) , Green et al. (1986: 139), Gómez (2002: 96), Rützler et al. (2009: 305), Hajdu et al. (2011: 210), Muricy et al. (2011: 59), Rützler et al. (2014: 94), and van Soest (2017: 21).

Type locality. Unknown.

Material examined. CNPGG-2263, Triangulo Oeste reef (20.95629°N, 92.30860°W), 8 m depth, coll. Diana Ugalde, 10 September 2017 .

Distribution. Mexico ( Green et al. 1986; Gómez 2002; De la Cruz-Francisco & Bandala-Pérez 2016; current records), Bermuda, US (Florida) , other countries in the Caribbean Sea, and Brazil ( Rützler et al. 2014).

Remarks. Ircinia strobilina is distinguished from other species of the genus by its particular grayish-black color, its large conules, and oscules darker in color than the rest of the body, grouped in depressions in the upper part of the sponge. Generally, the sponge morphology is massive to spherical, supported by a skeletal network of fasciculated primary fibers packed by debris connected by secondary fibers. Our specimens match these characteristics.

The species has been reported in the northern and in the SGoM (de Laubenfels 1936; Green et al. 1986; Gómez 2002; 2007, 2011). This species is a common inhabitant in the coral reefs in the SGoM.

Figures

FIGURE 76. Ircinia strobilina (Lamarck, 1816) (CNPGG-2263), skeleton and filaments:A. transversal section of the skeleton, mixture of filaments; B. detail of the filaments. Scale bars: A = 500 µm; B = 100 µm.

FIGURE 79. In situ photographs of species analyzed in the present study: A. Erylus formosus Sollas, 1886 (CNPGG-2202); B. Cinanchyrella apion (Uliczka, 1929) (CNPGG-2189); C. Cinanchyrella kuekenthali (Uliczka, 1929) (CNPGG-2190); D. Igernella notabilis (Duchassaing & Michelotti, 1864) (CNPGG-2234); E. Dysidea etheria de Laubenfels, 1936 (CNPGG-2199); F. Ircinia strobilina (Lamarck, 1816) (not collected) G. Ircinia strobilina (Lamarck, 1816) (CNPGG-2263); H. Hyattella cavernosa (Pallas, 1766) (CNPGG-2260); I. Spongia (S.) obscura Hyatt, 1877 (CNPGG-2177). Scale bars, A–H = 1 cm.