Mycale (Naviculina) oxeata Mácola, Nascimento, Pinheiro, Neves & Johnsson, 2025, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Mácola, Rosa
name: Nascimento, Elielton
name: Pinheiro, Ulisses
name: Neves, Elizabeth
name: Johnsson, Rodrigo
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2025
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Porifera
Demospongiae
Poecilosclerida
Mycalidae
Mycale
Mycale oxeata

description: Mycale (Naviculina) oxeata sp. nov.
Material examined
Holotype. UFPEPOR 2867 Marina de Itaparica Píer (12°53’20.9”S – 38°41’04.2”W, Todos-os-Santos Bay, Bahia State, Brazil), col. Labimar, 15.X.2020, 1 m depth.
Paratypes. UFPEPOR 2868, UFPEPOR 2871, UFPEPOR 2872 Marina de Itaparica Píer (12°53’20.9”S – 38°41’04.2”W, Todos-os-Santos Bay, Bahia State, Brazil), col. Labimar, 15.X.2020, 1 m depth; UFPEPOR 2873 Ilha de Bom Jesus dos Passos Píer (12°45’42.3”S – 38°38’09.1”W, Todos-os-Santos Bay, Bahia State, Brazil), col. Labimar, 23.XI.2021, 1 m depth.
Diagnosis. This is the only Mycale (N.) known with the presence of oxeas as megascleres, and two size categories of palmate anisochelae as microscleres.
External morphology. Finely encrusting sponge with transparent membrane similar to a peel. The colour is yellow in situ, turning beige when preserved in alcohol (Fig. 6A, B). Oscules not observed.
Skeleton. An ectosomal skeleton with triangular reticulation of paucispicular bundles composed by megascleres (Fig. 6C). Choanosome skeleton with oxeas and mycalostyles dispersed in less quantity, microscleres anisochelae I in rosettes, anisochelae II, sigmas I/II and naviculichelae dispersed in the choanosome (Fig. 6E, F). Tangential section with bundles of mycalostyles visible, and microscleres dispersed with no apparent organization (Fig. 6D).
Spicules. Megascleres. (dimensions of holotype UFPEPOR 2867). Mycalostyles (Fig. 7A) were in one category (301–336.3–364/3.9–5.9–7.9 μm). Oxeas (Fig. 7B), slightly curved, robust (76–99.3–129/4.3–5.5–7.2 μm).
Microscleres. C-shaped sigmas in two size categories (Fig. 7C, D) (I: 33–41.2–50 μm) (II: 8.7–10.2–11.6 μm). Palmate anisochelae I, long and robust (Fig. 7E), alae 52% of the total size of the spicule (31–37.9–41 μm; alae:15.3– 19.1–22.9 μm). Palmate anisochelae II, short, ala 56% of the total size of the spicule (Fig. 7F) (8.7–10.2–11.6 μm; alae: 5.3–5.6–5.9 μm). Naviculichelae, with near fusion of both frontal alae (Fig. 7G) (13–14.5–15.6 μm).
Ecology. The sponges were found on artificial substrate piers (Marina de Itaparica Island and Bom Jesus dos Passos Island) at 1 m depth. Mycale (Naviculina) oxeata sp. nov. was observed to overgrow Tubastraea spp. and the octocoral Carijoa riisei (Duchassaing & Michelotti, 1860).
Type Locality. Northeast Brazil, Bahia State, Todos-os-Santos Bay, Marina de Itaparica Píer (12°53’20.9”S – 38°41’04.2”W).
Etymology. The term “ oxeata ” refers to the presence of oxeas as an additional category of megascleres in the new species, which are absent in other species of the subgenus Naviculina.
Remarks. Mycale (Naviculina) has 14 species accepted worldwide, with three species recorded in Brazil: Mycale (N.) arcuiris, Mycale (N.) purpurata and Mycale (N.) diversisigmata (Muricy et al., 2011; De Voogd et al., 2024) (Table 2).
The new species differs from all species of Mycale (Naviculina) mainly by the unique presence of oxeas as megascleres, which are absent in every other species, in combination with mycalostyles, two categories of palmate anisochelae and only one of naviculichelae.
description: Published as part of Mácola, Rosa, Nascimento, Elielton, Pinheiro, Ulisses, Neves, Elizabeth & Johnsson, Rodrigo, 2025, Four new species of Mycale (Porifera: Demospongiae: Poecilosclerida) from the Southwest Atlantic, pp. 401-430 in Zootaxa 5627 (3) on pages 410-412, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5627.3.1, http://zenodo.org/record/15326189