Pericharax crypta Leocorny, Alencar, Fromont & Klautau, 2016, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Leocorny, Pedro
name: Alencar, Aline
name: Fromont, Jane
name: Klautau, Michelle
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2016
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Porifera
Calcarea
Clathrinida
Leucettidae
Pericharax
Pericharax crypta

description: Pericharax crypta sp. nov.
Etymology. From the Latin noun crypta (=grotto, covered passage/gallery), for the external shape of this sponge.
Diagnosis. Pericharax with a conspicuous striated surface and reduced atrial cavity. The skeleton is composed of two categories of triactines and three categories of tetractines. Spherulous cells are present.
Type Material. Holotype, WAM Z49226; from 33º30.72’S, 115º02.46’E to 33º30.71’S, 115º02.15’E in Geographe Bay, Western Australia; station: Trawl 2; depth: 36–37 meters; collector: Sampey, A.; date: 21/May/ 2007. Fragment from Holotype deposited under UFRJPOR 7129.
Type Locality. Geographe Bay, Western Australia, Australia.
Description. Sponge dark brown in ethanol with a massive form (3.1 cm x 5.6 cm) and single apical osculum measuring 1.0 cm in diameter (Figure 4 A). The surface is ridged and the atrial cavity is reduced (Figure 4 B). Spherulous cells are present throughout the sponge body (Figure 4 C). The aquiferous system is leuconoid.
The skeleton is disorganized. The cortical skeleton is composed of tangentially arranged large and small triactines and large tetractines (Figure 4 D). Subcortical lacunae are present (Figure 4 E). The choanosomal skeleton is composed of few, sparsely distributed, large triactines, many small triactines and small tetractines I. The small tetractines I mainly surround the inhalant canals where their apical actines project inwards (Figures 4 E, 4F). The atrial skeleton is principally composed of large triactines and small tetractines II (Figure 4 G), and the exhalant canals are supported by small tetractines II (Figure 4 H).
Spicules. (Table 4). Large tetractines (Figure 4 I): regular. The basal actines are conical with sharp tips (basal: 400–900–1175 µm / 75–198–288 µm). The apical actines are conical with sharp tips, always shorter than the basal ones. It was not possible to measure this actine.
Large triactines (Figure 4 J): regular. Actines are conical with sharp tips (750–956–1175 µm / 113–150–213 µm).
Small triactines (Figure 4 K): regular. Actines are conical with blunt tips (95–179–226 µm / 13–20–25 µm).
Small tetractines I (Figure 4 L, left): regular. The basal actines are conical with sharp tips. The apical actines are slightly conical and smooth with sharp tips. They are much longer and thinner than the apical actines of the small tetractine II (basal: 125–168–190 µm / 15–18–23 µm; apical: 90–173–508 µm / 4–6–8 µm).
Length (µm) Width (µm)
Spicule Actine Min Mean sd Max Min Mean sd Max n WAM Z49226
Large triactines 750.0 955.6 131.6 1175.0 112.5 150.0 32.5 212.5 10 Small triactines 95.0 178.8 25.9 222.5 12.5 20.2 2.8 25.0 20 Large tetractines Basal 400.0 900.0 293.4 1175.0 75.0 198.4 75.1 287.5 10 Small tetractines I Basal 125.0 167.9 15.6 190.0 15.0 17.6 2.0 22.5 20
Apical 90.0 173.0 95.4 507.5 3.7 5.9 1.2 7.5 20 Small tetractines II Basal 137.5 189.1 26.9 240.0 15.0 20.8 2.7 25.0 20
Apical 50.0 70.8 13.3 92.5 10.0 13.8 2.8 20.0 20 Small tetractines II (Figure 4 L, right): regular. The basal actines are slightly conical with sharp tips. The apical actines are conical and curved with sharp tips. They are shorter and thicker than the apical actines of small tetractine I (basal: 138–189–240 µm / 15–21–25 µm; apical: 50–71–93 µm / 10–14–20 µm).
Remarks. Pericharax crypta sp. nov. is distinguished by the presence of numerous large tetractines that occur throughout the various parts of the sponge skeleton. These spicules separate this new species from P. carteri Poléjaeff, 1883 and P. orientalis Van Soest & de Voogd, 2015. Although P. carteri and P. orientalis have very similar external morphologies to P. crypta sp. nov., their spicule components are very different in shape and size (Table 5).
Length (µm) Width (µm)
Spicule Actine Min Mean Max Min Mean Max
Pericharax carteri
Large triactines 494.0 964.9 1852.5 24.7 58.6 132.5
Small triactines (regular) 51.0 88.8 121.5 4.9 7.2 7.3
Small triactines (sagittal) Unpaired 50.0 109.4 190.0 - 6.0 - Paired 55.0 110.8 155.0 - 6.0 -
Small tetractines Basal 80.0 152.8 190.0 7.5 9.9 10.0
Pericharax orientalis
Large triactines 360.0 834.2 1560.0 25.0 67.9 132.0
Small triactines (regular) 60.0 159.3 228.0 7.0 12.2 18.0
Small triactines (sagittal) Unpaired 61.0 95.1 132.0 6.0 8.6 13.0 Paired 60.0 83.2 138.0 5.0 8.1 12.0
Small tetractines Basal 126.0 177.8 228.0 7.0 9.9 14.0 Apical 57.0 87.4 111.0 6.0 7.4 9.0
description: Published as part of Leocorny, Pedro, Alencar, Aline, Fromont, Jane & Klautau, Michelle, 2016, New Leucettidae de Laubenfels, 1936 (Porifera, Calcarea) from Western Australia, pp. 319-334 in Zootaxa 4175 (4) on pages 326-328, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4175.4.2, http://zenodo.org/record/162195