Redescritions of some rare sponge species in the western Mediterranean

Five poorly known sponge species from the southwestern Mediterranean are described and their taxonomic status discussed. The species Raspailia agnata and Axinella egregia are recorded for the first time outside the Atlantic. The skeletal arrangement of R. agnata, currently considered an Axinella, ju...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Uriz, María Jesús, Maldonado, Manuel
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:1993
País:España
Institución:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Repositorio:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
OAI Identifier:oai:digital.csic.es:10261/3027
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/3027
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Demospongiae
Raspailia
Axinella
Antho
Ircinia
Systematics
southwestern Mediterranean
Descripción
Sumario:Five poorly known sponge species from the southwestern Mediterranean are described and their taxonomic status discussed. The species Raspailia agnata and Axinella egregia are recorded for the first time outside the Atlantic. The skeletal arrangement of R. agnata, currently considered an Axinella, justifies placing it in the genus Raspailia alongside other species without acanthostyles (subgenus Syringella). The spicule complement of the Mediterranean specimens of R. agnata perfectly matches that of the type and thus differs from the remaining Atlantic specimens lacking oxeas. Two species of dubious validity (A. salicina and I. pipeta), only known at present by the type, have also been recognized in specimens from Alboran Island. I. pipetta, considered by some authors to be a form of I. variabilis, is presented here as a valid species, not because of its habit but because of its skeletal features. The species Antho oxeifera, also known by a unique specimen, is re described on the basis of a second specimen found in the Columbretes Archipielago. The reliability of the spicule categories described in the holotype and, consequently, the validity of this last species, is confirmed after examination of this second specimen. In view of its skeletal arrangement, Antho is considered to be a more appropiate genus than Clathria in which to place the species originally named C. oxeifera.