Caulophacus (Caulophacus) schulzei Wilson, 1904

Reiswig, Henry M., 2020, Report of Cladorhiza bathycrinoides Koltun (Demospongiae) from North America and a new species of Farrea (Hexactinellida) among sponges from Cordell Bank, California, Zootaxa 4747 (3), pp. 562-574 : 569

Caulophacus (Caulophacus) schulzei Wilson, 1904

( Fig. 6A )

Synonymy. Caulophacus schulzei Wilson, 1904 , 43; Lendenfeld,1915, 48; Lévi, 1964, 100; Koltun, 1967, 116; Beaulieu, 1998, 50; 2001, 808.

Material examined. CAS 223283, col. no. NA085-045-A, E/ V Nautilus w ROVs Hercules & Argus, Dive NA085, Cordell Bank, Calif., 38.09ºN, 123.70ºW. 2647.7 m, 09 Aug. 2017.

Comparative material. Cotype of Caulophacus schulzei , USNM 08270, USFS Albatross stn 3382, Gulf of Panama, 06.35ºN, 80.68ºW, 3279 m, 07 March 1891.

Description. Only a moderate-size margin of the specimen on the left of Figure 6A was collected for determination. The specimen is stalked and attached to a rock outcrop. The body is a wide shallow cup with undulated margin. Attachment of stalk to the body was not recorded in the video. The body is 60.5 cm in diameter as calculate from 10 cm laser spacing indicated at left of the in situ image.

Remarks. Spicules of the collected 1.3 cm thick wall fragment agree with both Wilson’s (1904) original description and the review of the cotype specimen of Caulophacus schulzei from the Gulf of Panama. In all reports, the species is encountered in large numbers of specimens.

Distribution. The species is known to have a very wide distribution from the Tasman Sea, N. Peru, Ecuador, Gulf of Panama, Central California and the Bering Sea from 3183-4510 m depths. The present report is a range extension to Northern California and provides the first in situ image of the species.

Figures

FIGURE 6. In situ images of other specimens. A. Caulophacus (Caulophacus) schulzei, arrowheads indicate 10 cm spaced laser spots. B. Rhabdocalyptu dawsoni, 10 cm spaced laser spots are obvious. C. Staurocalyptus pamelaturnerae, 10 cm spaced laser spots are above the specimen. All images credit: OET/NOAA National Marine Sanctuaries.