| Demospongiae |
Haplosclerida |
Petrosiidae |
Xestospongia deweerdtae |
1 |
Pinkish to orange thick encrustations with volcano-shaped oscules. Consistency firmy compressible, crumbly. Spicules are perfect strongyles 325-400 x 10-20 µm arranged in the ectosome as a tangential unispicular reticulation, and in the choanosome as multispicular reticulation. |
Lehnert & van Soest, 1999 |
pink-lilac,orange,tube,massive,tough |
| Demospongiae |
Haplosclerida |
Petrosiidae |
Xestospongia muta |
16 |
Large barrels, golden to reddish brown. Surface rather smooth or with numerous irregular, finger-shaped, pyramidal or lamellated projections. Top usually thin-walled, usually with projections. Interior of atria rough, as a bubble-like pattern. Also knows as X. rampa (de Laubenfels, 1934). |
(Schmidt, 1870) |
yellow,brown,pink-lilac,cream,cinnamon-tan,tube,vase,crumbly,hard |
| Demospongiae |
Haplosclerida |
Petrosiidae |
Xestospongia sp.-thin pink sheet over Plakortis |
5 |
Thin lavender-pink, soft crust, found living over the sponge Plakortis halichondroides (Wilson, 1902). Oscules of P. halichondroides are free of Xestospongia sp. tissue; there are also numerous holes on the surface that may serve as inhalant areas for the lower sponge. Spicules are strongyles 170-260 x 2.5-6.3 µm, arranged in an unispicular isotropic reticulation. We initially thought it was X. deweerdtae Lehnert & van Soest, 1999 (also pictured here), but when we found the free living sponge it turned out to be different, with larger spicules. It should be compared to Haliclona strongylophora Lehnert & van Soest, 1996 (not included herein). |
|
pink-lilac,encrusting,soft,crumbly |
| Demospongiae |
Haplosclerida |
Petrosiidae |
Xestospongia sp.-whitish thick encrustation |
1 |
White to greenish, tough but crumbly encrustations with large oscula with transparent collars. Megasclere spicules are hastate oxea 350-450 x 7-10 µm arranged in an isotropic unispicular reticulation (both ectosomal and choanosomal, although the latter can be paucispicular). Owing to its large spicule size, it may fit into genus Xestospongia. However, it needs to be compared to Haliclona megasclera Lehnert & vanb Soest, 1996, which also has large oxea spicules. Also needs to be compared to Xestospongia arenosa van Soest & de Weerdt, 2001, which is also withish but usually lives buried in sediments. |
|
white,encrusting,crumbly |
