Cyamon neon De Laubenfels, 1930

Soest, Rob van, Carballo, Jose Luis & Hooper, John, 2012, Polyaxone monaxonids: revision of raspailiid sponges with polyactine megascleres (Cyamon and Trikentrion), ZooKeys 239, pp. 1-70 : 23

publication ID

https://dx.doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.239.3734

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/7CB6AD11-6FE6-B38B-FB3F-37D108B144CA

treatment provided by

ZooKeys by Pensoft

scientific name

Cyamon neon De Laubenfels, 1930
status

 

Cyamon neon De Laubenfels, 1930 Figs 11 A–H

Cyamon neon De Laubenfels 1930: 28 (California); 1932: 109, fig. 65; Sim and Bakus 1986: 17 (California, with erroneous size data of the polyactines); Luke 1998: 10 (La Jolla, S California); Lee et al. 2007: 211.

Material examined.

Holotype USNM 21412, preserved in alcohol, California, between Point Dunes and Newport, near San Pedro.

Paratype: BMNH 1929.9.30.5, two slides, Santa Catalina Island, California, 33.5°N.

Description.

Shape massively encrusting (Fig. 11A) with irregular conulose-villose surface. Size of specimen 4 × 3 cm in lateral expansion, 2 cm in thickness. Color (alcohol) red brown.

Skeleton: columnar, with thick short styles at the center of a mass of polyactines, with long thin styles protruding from this skeleton surrounded by shorter centrotylote styles.

Spicules: long thin styles, short thin centrotylote styles, short thick styles, polyactines.

Long thin styles (Figs 11B, B1), relative straight and robust, frequently with subterminal tyle 860 –1041– 1290 × 6 –7.8– 10 µm (De Laubenfels gives: up to 1560 × 12 µm).

Short thin styles (Figs 11C, C1), curved, centrotylote, often with mucronate slightly rugose pointed end, 191 –242.8– 306 × 1.5 –2.4– 3 µm.

Short thick styles (Fig. 11D), smooth, curved evenly, occasionally oxeote, 270 –408.2– 468 × 14 –16.8– 24 µm.

Polyactines (Figs 11E, 11E1, 11F) robust, largely smooth with cladi spined only at the apices (Fig. 11E1), or all cladi smooth. The three- or four claded forms vary widely in size and are sometimes reminiscent of Trikentrion spicules. Three-claded forms tend to have longer and thicker lateral cladi than the rare four-claded forms. Basal cladi in three-claded spicules are 33 –48.8– 63 × 8 –11.7– 14 µm, lateral cladi 72 –95.7– 132 × 7-12 µm, while four-claded forms have basal cladi 40 –55.0– 69 × 6 –7.7– 9 µm and lateral cladi 30 –45.1– 57 × 5 –6.3– 7 µm. There are very common diactinal polyactines (Fig. 11F), mimicking oxeas, but recognizable as reduced polyactines by centrotylote swellings and finely spined apices, size 123 –158.3– 202 × 7 –10.2– 14 µm.

Distribution.

Southern Californian Bight (San Pedro, Santa Catalina island, La Jolla).

Ecology.

On hard substrate, at depths 0-36 m.

Discussion.

Cyamon neon is unusual among Cyamon species by it possession of polyactines with smooth or barely spined cladi, the shape of many of the polyactines mimicking those of Trikentrion , and the occurrence of diactinal polyactines. The latter spicules are shared with Cyamon argon , which in most respects is similar to Cyamon neon . For a comparison between the two species see below in the remarks to Cyamon argon . The only other Cyamon species in the area is Cyamon koltuni , which differs substantially in the bulbous endings of the cladi of the polyactines and absence of the short thin styles.

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Porifera

Class

Demospongiae

Order

Axinellida

Family

Raspailiidae

Genus

Cyamon