Tethyidae Gray, 1848

Łukowiak, Magdalena, 2015, Late Eocene siliceous sponge fauna of southern Australia: reconstruction based on loose spicules record, Zootaxa 3917 (1), pp. 1-65 : 27

publication ID	https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3917.1.1
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:D8CB263D-645B-46CE-B797-461B6A86A98A
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6108571
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/2125D91F-1B3A-2961-7ED9-C540F78DF87D
treatment provided by	Plazi (2016-04-18 11:19:33, last updated 2024-11-26 03:21:24)
scientific name	Tethyidae Gray, 1848
status

Treatment

Family Tethyidae Gray, 1848

A single, spherical microsclere with bulb-shaped, tightly arranged projections ( Fig. 13 View FIGURE 13 E) was found in the studied sample that closely resembles microscleres of Recent Tethya omanensis Sarà & Bavestrello, 1995 (compare with Fig. 14A View FIGURE 14. A ). However, micrasters of T. omanensis are about 10 Μm of diameter and the studied Eocene spicule from Australia is much larger, exceeding 80 Μm. Nevertheless, its morphology is almost identical with the discussed Recent microscleres. Unfortunately, the other spicule types characteristic for this species (megasters and other micrasters) have not been found in the studied samples. One has to mention that today Tethya omanensis has been recorded only from Oman and the Western Arabian Sea (van Soest & Beglinger 2008).

There were also numerous oxyasters ( Figs. 13 View FIGURE 13 F–H) found in the studied material and some of them resemble those of Recent Tethyastra oxyaster Burton, 1934 (described as Tethyorrhaphis oxyaster ; see Fig. 14 View FIGURE 14. A B). In this case the spicules of this Recent species described by Burton (1934) may be from 200 to 2000 Μm, whereas the ones described here are about 300 Μm in size. The assignment of studied oxyasters to this species or its ancestor seems to be justified not only because of the great morphological resemblance, but also by the fact that T. oxyaster is today noted from all over Australia (van Soest et al. 2013).

Spicules of morphology similar to those of Tethyastra oxyaster were already described from the fossil record e.g., by Hinde & Holmes from the Late Eocene of New Zealand (1892, fig. 14.24) but this is the first fossil occurrence of very characteristic micrasters of Tethya cf. omanensis .

References

Burton, M. (1934) Sponges. Scientific Reports of the Great Barrier Reef Expedition 1928 - 29, 4 (14), 513 - 621. http: // dx. doi. org / 10.5962 / bhl. title. 68674

Gray, J. E. (1848) List of the Specimens of British Sponges in the collection of the British Museum (London). British Museum Publication, London, 24 pp. http: // dx. doi. org / 10.5962 / bhl. title. 12061

Sara, M. & Bavestrello, G. (1995) Tethya omanensis, a remarkable new species from an Oman cave (Porifera, Demospongiae). Bolletino di Zoologia, 62, 23 - 27. http: // dx. doi. org / 10.1080 / 11250009509356046

Soest, R. W. M. van & Beglinger, E. J. (2008) Tetractinellid and hadromerid sponges from the Sultanate of Oman. Zoologische Mededelingen Leiden, 82, 749 - 790.

Soest, R. W. M., van, Boury-Esnault, N., Hooper, J. N. A., Rutzler, K., de Voogd, N. J., Alvarez de Glasby, B., Hajdu, E., Pisera, A. B., Manconi, R., Schoenberg, C., Janussen, D., Tabachnick, K. R., Klautau, M., Picton, B., Kelly, M., Vacelet, J., Dohrmann, M. & Cristina Diaz, M. (2013) World Porifera database. Accessed through: Van Soest, R. W. M., Boury- Esnault, N., Hooper, J. N. A., Rutzler, K., de Voogd, N. J., Alvarez de Glasby, B., Hajdu, E., Pisera, A. B., Manconi, R., Schoenberg, C., Janussen, D., Tabachnick, K. R., Klautau, M., Picton, B., Kelly, M., Vacelet, J., Dohrmann, M. & Cristina Diaz, M. World Porifera database. Available from: http: // www. marinespecies. org / porifera / porifera. php? p = taxdetails & id = 171271 (accessed 19 March 2014)

Figures

FIGURE 13. Spicules of sponges of the order Hadromerida; A – D—Different types of selenasters of Placospongia sp., family Placospongiidae; E—Micraster of the Tethya cf. omanensis, family Tethyidae; F – H—Oxyasters of the Tethyastra oxyaster, family Tethyidae.

FIGURE 14. A. Micraster of recent Tethya omanensis (redrawn from van Soest & Beglinger 2008); B—Oxyaster of recent Tethyastra oxyaster (redrawn from Burton 1934).