Tedania (Porifera: Demospongiae: Poecilosclerida) from the Mexican Pacific with the description of two new species

Abstract

Two new species of Tedania (Porifera: Demospongiae: Poecilosclerida) are described from the Mexican Pacific. Tedania (Tedania) tropicalis sp. nov. is an encrusting to massive sponge having ectosomal tylotes with microspined heads, choanosomal styles and onychaetes. Tedania (Tedania) fulvum sp. nov. is a thinly encrusting sponge having ectosomal tylotes with smooth heads, choanosomal styles and onychaetes. Tables for all the Tedania (subgenera Tedania and Tedaniopsis) and Trachytedania species described worldwide are included. We suggest that species of Tedania and Trachytedania bearing ectosomal diactinal spicules (excluding Tedania (Stylotedania)) can be separated in two main groups: those having choanosomal monactinal spicules and those with choanosomal diactinal spicules.

www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:5B212DC3-3827-44D5-8E63-3E652BCB29E6

KEYWORDS:

• Porifera
• Poecilosclerida
• taxonomy
• new species

Acknowledgements

We thank Regina Wetzer from the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County for inviting the first author to review the Allan Hancock Sponge Collection. Kathy Omura, Emma Freeman and Kirk Fitzhugh for their help in LACM. We also thank María Berenit Mendoza (Instituto de Biología, UNAM), and Israel Gradilla Martínez (Centro de Nanociencias y Nanotecnología, UNAM) for the SEM images used in this paper. We thank SAGARPA for the permit number DGOPA.00978.120209.0457 conferred for the collection of the samples. The constructive comments of three anonymous reviewers helped to improve this manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología [SEP-CONACyT 102239]; [PAPIIT-IA201614-2] and CONABIO by several supported projects.