Ascute Dendy & Row, 1913

Borojevic, Radovan, Boury-Esnault, Nicole & Vacelet, Jean, 2000, A revision of the supraspecific classification of the subclass Calcaronea (Porifera, class Calcarea), Zoosystema 22 (2), pp. 203-263 : 216-217

Genus Ascute Dendy & Row, 1913

TYPE SPECIES. — Leucosolenia uteoides Dendy, 1892 by original designation.

DIAGNOSIS. — Leucosoleniidae in which the skeleton can be composed of diactines, triactines and/or tetractines, with an outer layer that is supported by giant longitudinal diactines.

DESCRIPTION

Dendy & Row (1913) placed the genus Ascute among sponges with basinucleate choanocytes. We have examined the type specimen of Leucosolenia uteoides Dendy, 1892 (BMNH 1893. 6.9.33) and found that it only has typical sagittal triactine and tetractine spicules that are organized in a pattern very similar to the skeleton of Leucosolenia ( Fig. 15 ), and quite different from the Clathrinidae , which are characterised by regular spicules. Since the appearance of the choanocytes may be considered altered by fixation (Vacelet 1964), we prefer to place this genus close to Leucosolenia until examination of new specimens and a revision of their cytology is possible. Only two species were described in this genus; both are from Australia: A. asconoides (Carter, 1886) and A. uteoides (Dendy, 1892) .

Figures

FIG. 15. — Section of the wall of Ascute. Specimen from the Wilson collection collected near Port Philips Heads (Australia), BMNH 1983.6.9.33. Scale bar: 160 µm.