Celtodoryx chichiltik Cruz-Barraza & Carballo & Aguilar-Camacho 2023, sp.nov.
Creators: name: Cruz-Barraza, José Antonio
name: Carballo, José Luis
name: Aguilar-Camacho, José María
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2023
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Porifera
Demospongiae
Poecilosclerida
Coelosphaeridae
Celtodoryx
Celtodoryx chichiltik

description: Celtodoryx chichiltik sp.nov. Cruz-Barraza, Carballo & Aguilar-Camacho
(Figs 2, 3)
Material examined
Holotype: LEB-ICML-UNAM-144, Isla Lobos (Mazatlán, Sinaloa), 23°13’49’’N, 106°27’43’’W, 17/X/2002, 5 m depth.
Paratypes: LEB-ICML-UNAM-161, Isla Cardones (Mazatlán, Sinaloa), 23°11’05’’N, 106°24’07’’W, 15/III/2000, depth 8 m. LEB-ICML-UNAM-172, Isla Pájaros (Mazatlán, Sinaloa), 23°15’29’’N, 106°28’25’’W, 16/III/2000, 5 m depth. LEBICML-UNAM-260, Paraje Viejo (Guaymas, Sonora), 27°52’20’’N, 110°52’08’’W, 04/XI/2000, 12 m depth. LEBICML-UNAM-292, Ensenada de Bacochibampo (Guaymas, Sonora), 27°54’37’’N, 101°57’12’’W, 06/XI/2000, 5 m depth. LEB-ICML-UNAM-618, Conchas Chinas (Bahía de Banderas, Jalisco), 20°35’16’’N, 105°14’42’’W, 08/X/2002, 5 m depth. LEB-ICML-UNAM-740, Paraje Viejo Astillero de Guaymas (Guaymas, Sonora) 27°52’20’’N, 110°52’8’’W, 26/XI/2002, 4 m depth. LEB-ICML-UNAM-797, Mismaloya (Bahía de Banderas, Jalisco), 20°31’56’’N, 105°17’42’’W, 09/VI/2003, 10 m depth. LEB-ICML-UNAM-850, Majahuita (Bahía de Banderas, Jalisco), 20°29’06’’N, 105°35’03’’W, 08/VI/2003, 15 m depth.
Etymology: The term ‘chichiltik’ comes from Nahuatl (an old Mexican language) and means red colour, which refers to the species’ typical coloration.
Diagnosis: Red thinly-encrusting sponge, characterized by a peculiar fistulose surface. Spicules are smooth iso-anisostrongyles to iso-anisotylotes (180.5–307 µm length), arcuate tridentate isochelae (15–25 µm length), and very thin oxychaetes (30–100 µm length).
Description
Thinly encrusting sponge, from 0.5 to 2 mm thick, covering rocky substrates from 2 to 8 cm (maximum diameter). The species consists of a basal portion irregular in shape, and from its surface arises many small fistules evenly distributed (Fig. 2A, B). Fistules are circular or oval in section (from 1 to 2.5 mm in diameter), and distally widened; they can protrude from 3 to 6 mm high on the surface when alive. They bear ostia (in sieve-like arrangement) or oscula, not always visible underwater (Fig. 2A, B). Oscula are circular or oval shaped (about 1 mm in diameter), slightly elevated from the basal surface by an ectosomal membrane or at the top of the fistules. Specimens commonly contain foreign material embedded in the choanosome. Consistency is firm but specimens are easy to tear when preserved. Colour in life is bright red. Asser fixation, the colour becomes light brown to pale.
Skeletal characteristics
Skeleton: Ectosomal skeleton is composed of a dense layer (10–20 µm thick) of tangentially strewn tylotes without distinctive arrangement, sometimes forming multispicular tracks about 10 µm thick. The choanosomal skeleton is a disorganized structure but it is possible to discern a vague plumoreticulate structure formed by primary multispicular tracts (10–100 µm thick) interconnected with secondary uni-paucispicular or multispicular tracts (5–45 µm thick) (Fig. 2C). Fistules are characterized by a dense spicular structure formed by an agglomeration of criss-crossed megascleres perpendicularly arranged to the basal surface. Microscleres are distributed without a special organization.
Spicules: Megascleres are strongyles (iso-anisostrongyles) and tylotes (iso-anisotylotes) (Figs 2D, E, 3A, B), both similar in size and difficult to define between intermediate forms. Tylotes are straight to slightly curved or even with flexuous shasss and smooth ends (Fig. 3C). Strongyles are commonly wider than tylotes. Strongyles length: 207–(223.2)–238 µm; shass diameter 5–6.3 µm (Table 2). Tylotes length: 187.5–(216)–237.5 µm; shass diameter: 2.5–4.5 µm; head diameter: 3–6.3 µm (Table 2). Microscleres are arcuate tridentate isochelae from 20–32.5 µm in length (Fig. 3D), and thin oxychaetes (Fig. 3E, F) from 30–100 µm in length and less than 1 µm in diameter (Table 2).
Distribution and habitat
Asser several field surveys along the Mexican Pacific coast, Celtodoryx chichiltik sp. nov. was only found in shallow waters from the Gulf of California (Sonora, Sinaloa, and Jalisco; Fig. 1). The species is relatively common on rocky substrates. Most individuals were found covered by sediments only visible by their protruding fistules.
Remarks: The genus Celtodoryx was erected by Pérez et al. (2006) for Coelosphaeridae species with a plumoreticulate chonosomal skeleton of tylotes and strongyles (anisostrongyles and anisotylotes), with arcuate isochelae and oxychaetes as microscleres. Originally, Celtodoryx girardae Pérez, Perrin, Carteron, Vacelet & Boury-Esnault, 2006 (from the north-east Atlantic) was established as the type species. However, years later, Henkel and Janusen (2011) suggested that this species was conspecific with Cornulum ciocalyptoides Burton, 1935 from the north-west Pacific. So, they transferred the last species to Celtodoryx, and synonymized it with C. girardae. Thereby, Celtodoryx ciocalyptoides became the senior synonym of C. girardae and, consequently, the type species of Celtodoryx (by subsequent designation).
Celtodoryx ciocalyptoides is a yellow encrusting to massive (globular growth form) sponge, with 1.5 cm and up to 50 cm thick. In contrast, analysed samples of Celtodoryx chichiltik sp. nov. were red in colour and consistently thinly encrusting less than 1 cm thick. In addition, C. ciocalyptoides produced abundant mucus upon collection, which was never observed in the new species. Regarding the spicular complement, the main differences are in the megascleres morphology and microscleres size. In C. ciocalyptoides, the anisostrongyles possess strong spines at the ends, which sometimes are subdivided into several smaller ones, whereas the head of tylotes are entirely covered by spines. In contrast, the ends of both megascleres in Celtodoryx chichiltik sp. nov. are always smooth. Henkel and Janusen (2011) have reported a few thin tylotes with smooth ends; they were considered as immature spicules. Megascleres with smooth ends were never mentioned in the original descriptions of C. ciocalyptoides and C. girardae. Another difference between these two species is the anisochelae size; C. ciocalyptoides have two size categories: I: 33.6–62 µm and II: 16–30 µm in length, whereas the new species has a single category from 15–25 µm length (Table 2).
aTY,Smooth tylotes, bST, Smooth strongyles, cSETY,spined ends tylotes, dAnST,spined ends anisostrongyles, eSpicule measures from Henkel and Janussen 2011.
Celtodoryx chichiltik sp. nov. constitutes the first record of the genus Celtodoryx in the eastern Pacific region and the second valid species of this genus.
description: Published as part of Cruz-Barraza, José Antonio, Carballo, José Luis & Aguilar-Camacho, José María, 2023, Taxonomy and molecular phylogenetic position of new species and new records of Coelosphaeridae (Demospongiae: Poecilosclerida) from the Mexican Pacific, pp. 511-532 in Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 199 (2) on pages 514-518, DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlad036, http://zenodo.org/record/8432619