Axinella Schmidt, 1862

Carballo, Jose Luis, Bautista-Guerrero, Eric & Cruz-Barraza, Jose Antonio, 2018, Description and molecular phylogeny of Axinella nayaritensis n. sp. (Porifera: Axinellida) from East Pacific and remarks about the polyphyly of the genus Axinella, Zootaxa 4482 (1), pp. 111-124 : 114

Genus Axinella Schmidt, 1862

Synonymy: Axidragma Hallmann, 1917 , Axinella (Homaxinella) Topsent, 1916 , Axinella (Stylissa) Hallmann, 1914 , Axinosia Hallmann, 1914 , Chalinissa Lendenfeld, 1887 , Pseudaxinella Schmidt, 1875 , Querciclona de Laubenfels, 1936 , Teichaxinella de Laubenfels, 1936 , Tragosia Gray, 1867 .

Type species: Axinella polypoides Schmidt, 1862 .

Diagnosis: Ramose, bushy or lamellate habit. Surface generally smooth with choanosomal spicules projecting slightly; oscules, when visible, with stellate morphology (i.e., superficial canals leading to opening ‘imprinted’ in superficial skeleton); ectosome without specialized skeleton. Choanosomal skeleton differentiated in axial and extra-axial regions; axial skeleton compressed or vaguely reticulated; extra-axial skeleton plumose or plumoreticulate. Megascleres styles, or styles and oxeas, or oxeas; when both present, one type may be rare; modifications of megascleres common in several species. Microscleres, if present, microraphides and raphides, mostly in tightly packed trichodragmata ( Alvarez & Hooper 2002).