Dercitus Stoeba syrmatitus De Laubenfels, 1930

Van Soest, Rob W. M., Beglinger, Elly J. & De Voogd, Nicole J., 2010, Skeletons in confusion: a review of astrophorid sponges with (dicho-) calthrops as structural megascleres (Porifera, Demospongiae, Astrophorida), ZooKeys 68, pp. 1-88 : 30

Dercitus Stoeba syrmatitus De Laubenfels, 1930

Dercitus syrmatitus De Laubenfels 1930: 26; 1932: 38, fig. 17.

Stoeba syrmatitus ; Lee et al. 2007: 213.

Material examined.

None.

Holotype.

USNM 21438, United States, California, Laguna Beach, coll. M.W. De Laubenfels, 26 March 1929.

Description

(from De Laubenfels, 1932). Consolidating sandy substrate, shape ‘amorphous’, colour ‘drab’, surface smooth, consistency slimy. Size of parts containing the characteristic spiculation 0.2-2 mm. Skeleton of interior ‘packed’ with megascleres and microscleres.

Spicules: calthrops and sanidasters.

Calthrops, small, often reduced to ‘tripods’, cladi 25 –65– 80 × 3 –8– 10 µm.

Sanidasters variable in spination, often concentrated in two areas of the microsclere to approach an amphiaster condition, but many are irregular, endings blunt, 8-12 µm.

Habitat.

Intertidal.

Distribution.

California.

Remarks.

De Laubenfels (1932) mentions the possible presence of toxas, judged to be foreign. Lee et al. (2007) provide SEM photos of the spicules. The species stands out by its small calthrops, which is only shared with Dercitus (Stoeba) xanthus , but in that species there are no normal calthrops, only three-claded ones, and the sanidasters are considerebaly longer.