Latrunculia (Latrunculia) novaecaledoniae Samaai &amp; Gibbons &amp; Kelly 2006, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Samaai, Toufiek
name: Gibbons, Mark J.
name: Kelly, Michelle
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2006
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Porifera
Demospongiae
Poecilosclerida
Latrunculiidae
Latrunculia
Latrunculia novaecaledoniae

description: <i>Latrunculia</i> (<i>Latrunculia</i>) <i>novaecaledoniae</i> sp. nov. (Fig. 1N, 2; Tables 2 &amp; 3) <i>Latrunculia brevis</i>; Lévi, 1993, FIG. 10A; PL. III, FIG.3. <b>Holotype material.</b> MNHN D.CL. 3549 (Biocal DW 33) labelled <i>Latrunculia brevis</i> identified by Lévi, C. 1993, microscope­slide, <i>Jean Charcot</i> Expedition, Nouvelle­Caledonie, stn DW 33, 23 09, 71' S., 167 10, 27'E', depth 675–680 m. <b>Description (from Lévi, 1993).</b> Sponge massive, overlying and covering debri limestone, measuring 40/15/ 10 mm in diameter. Surface has large folds. Oscules visible, 2–3 mm in lengh and 0.5 mm broad. Colour in life unknown; in preservative reddish brown. <b>Skeleton.</b> The choanosomal skeleton is cavernous consisting of a dense regular polygonal­meshed reticulation formed by wispy tracts of smooth styles, approximately 100 µm wide. <b>Spicules.</b> Megascleres: styles slightly spined between head and mid region with narrow heads (almost strongyloxeate), fusiform and slightly sinuous, 400–460 m x 10 m [authors measurements 469 (455–482) x 13–14 m]. Microscleres: Anisodiscorhabds (Fig. 1N), the manubrium is slightly spined, forming a tripod structure, with a basal whorl of spines separated just above the manubrium. Medium whorl is circular, broad, flat and horizontally arranged, being the largest of the three whorls, 32 m in diameter. The medium whorl is divided into three distinct segments, each possessing 8–9 denticulate margins. The subsidiary whorl is slanted upwards, separated from the apical whorl by an extended shaft, 30 m in length, the latter ending in a crown like tuft that looks like a capitulum. Acanthodiscorhabd length, 50 m (Lévi 1993) [authors measurements 57 (57) m]. <b>Etymology.</b> Named after the type location New Caledonia. <b>Substratum, depth range and ecology</b>. Found growing on limestone, depth range, 675–680 m <b>Geographic distribution</b> (Fig. 2). New Caledonia <b>Remarks.</b> This new species clearly differs from <i>Latrunculia</i> from across the Eastern Pacific Ocean (i.e., <i>L. palmata; L. ikematsui</i>) in that the styles are larger on average (Table 3) and are slightly spined, a character overlooked by Lévi (1993) when he described it as a species of <i>L. brevis</i>. Other more subtle differences are the robustness of the anisodiscorhabd, when compared to <i>L. palmata,</i> in which the basal whorl is slightly elevated from the manubrium. Apart from this, the acanthodiscorhabds are larger on average to the two Eastern Pacific <i>Latrunculia</i> species (see Table 3). This new species is only the second to be recorded with spination on the shaft of the anisostyle, the only other species being <i>L. oparinae</i>. A comparison of the styles of <i>L. novaecaledoniae</i> to that of <i>L spinispiraefera</i> also clearly shows differences in the morphology, the latter tending to have strongyloxeas rather than styles. The anisodiscorhabd of <i>L. spinispiraefera</i> also lacks the basal whorl that is characteristic of the subgenus <i>Latrunculia</i> and found in the species <i>L. novaecaledoniae</i> sp. nov., <i>L. ikematsui</i> and <i>L. palmata</i>.
description: Published as part of <i>Samaai, Toufiek, Gibbons, Mark J. &amp; Kelly, Michelle, 2006, Revision of the genus Latrunculia du Bocage, 1869 Porifera: Demospongiae: Latrunculiidae) with descriptions of new species from New Caledonia and the Northeastern Pacific (, pp. 1-71 in Zootaxa 1127 (1)</i> on page 45, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.1127.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/5057828
description: {"references": ["Levi, C. (1993) Porifera Demospongiae: Spongiaires bathyaux de Nouvelle-Caledonie, recoltes par le Jean Charcot Campagne BIOCAL, 1985. In Crosnier, A. (ed.) Resultats des Campagnes MUSORSTOM, Volume 11. Memoires du Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, 158, 9 - 88."]}