Aspidoscopulia australia DOHRMANN, GOCKE & JANUSSEN 2011, SP. NOV.
Creators: name: Dohrmann, Martin
name: Göcke, Christian
name: Janussen, Dorte
name: Reitner, Joachim
name: Lüter, Carsten
name: Wörheide, Gert
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2011
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Porifera
Hexactinellida
Sceptrulophora
Farreidae
Aspidoscopulia
Aspidoscopulia australia

description: ASPIDOSCOPULIA AUSTRALIA DOHRMANN, GÖCKE & JANUSSEN SP. NOV.   
 Material examined: One specimen, the holotype (QM G332077, SMF 11031), collected 10.xii.2009 during the DDU expedition at Osprey Reef, ROV Dive #4, 13°50.74S, 146°32.88E, on a coral reef wall, depth 656 m.   
 Description: Body branching with an anastomosing system of tubes, attached to a basal plate, holotype about 0.50 m tall (Fig. 6, supporting movie M1, available at Open Data LMU http://dx.doi.org/10. 5282/ubm/data.36). The live sponge was covered by numerous orange zoanthids and by several actinians. Walls thin, outer edges of tubes c. 1 mm; diameter of the oscular tubes about 15 to 25 mm, increasing distally, skeletal channels absent. Colour white, both the living sponge and in ethanol preservation.   
 Skeleton (Figs 7, 8, Table 4): Dictyonal framework of smooth hexactins forming rectangular, occasionally triangular meshes, mesh width 281–787 Mm, beam thickness 34–113 Mm, the thinnest outer framework parts consist of only one layer of hexactins. Distal rays of dermal outer layer are thickened and more or less tuberculate, no microhexactins were found attached to the dictyonal framework. Loose spicules include dermal and atrial pentactins, microspined with proximal ray length of 88–263 Mm and tangential ray lengths 113–300 Mm. Sceptrules are anchorate clavules, 313–433 Mm in length, microspiny, with a flattened head showing only little expansion and with six to 11 (mean eight) large, separated marginal spines, length 25–35 Mm. The shaft shows a conspicuous whorl of large rounded hooks, 10–25 Mm long, just below the head, which contains a swelling of the central canal, representing the axial cross. Other sceptrules are pileate clavules, 263–313 Mm in length, with an umbrella-like head, 22–30 Mm diameter, framed by c. 25 fused marginal spines, and aspidoscopules, 213–225 Mm length, with a flattened, platelike head and six to seven tines, 25–35 Mm in length. Shaft of aspidoscopules with or without long projecting spines below the head. Rare uncinates observed, 100–125 Mm in length. Microscleres are oxyhexasters, 50–82 Mm diameter, with primary rays, 30–40 Mm length, four to six secondary rays, and discohexasters, microspined, 57–77 Mm diameter, with long primary rays, 25–37 Mm length, and four to six secondary rays.   
 Remarks: Aspidoscopulia australia sp. nov. differs from the type species of the genus, Asp. furcillata, mainly by the presence of anchorate clavules. Additionally, a small cross at the end of the aspidoscopule shaft, occasionally occurring downward-bending aspidoscopule tines, and microhexactins fused by one ray to the dictyonal framework, as described from Asp. furcillata (Lévi, 1990; Reiswig, 2002b), were not observed in Asp. australia. Furthermore, the hexasters of the latter are more variable in size than those of the type species.   
 Etymology: The species name refers to the first record of the genus Aspidoscopulia from Australia.
description: Published as part of Dohrmann, Martin, Göcke, Christian, Janussen, Dorte, Reitner, Joachim, Lüter, Carsten & Wörheide, Gert, 2011, Systematics and spicule evolution in dictyonal sponges (Hexactinellida: Sceptrulophora) with description of two new species, pp. 1003-1025 in Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 163 (4) on pages 1011-1012, DOI: 10.1111/j.1096-3642.2011.00753.x, http://zenodo.org/record/5442435