| Demospongiae |
Astrophorida |
Ancorinidae |
Asteropus niger |
5 |
Massive, tough, with oscules in groups, shiny black externally and internally, surface rough. Spicules are long and very small oxeas, sanidasters and slender asters. |
Hajdu & van Soest, 1992 |
black,massive,tough,soft,crumbly |
| Demospongiae |
Astrophorida |
Ancorinidae |
Stelletta kallitetilla |
9 |
Originally described under genus Myriastra. Gobular to massive, tough sponge, bright yellow-green to dark green, growing on mangrove stilt roots or on sand-sea grass beds. There may be a top oscule. Surface usually nodulose, but can be even, hispid; can also be clean or heavily fouled. |
(de Laubenfels, 1936) |
white,purple-violet,yellow,green,brown,cream,massive,spherical,fan,tough,soft |
| Demospongiae |
Astrophorida |
Ancorinidae |
Stelletta pudica |
7 |
Originally described under genus Jaspis. Spherical to massive sponge with often one central or lateral oscule, and sometimes several ones scattered; color cream with browish tinges, but difficult to distinguish owing to a heavy fouling. Unfouled specimens are reddish brown. Megasclere spicules are long oxeas in primary tracts. Microsclere spicules are tiny tylasters, sometimes scarce and difficult to locate. |
(Wiedenmayer, 1977) |
brown,spherical,massive,tough |
| Demospongiae |
Astrophorida |
Geodiidae |
Erylus formosus |
7 |
Also known as Erylus bahamensis Pulizter-Finali, 1986 (see revision by Cárdenas et al., 2009). Repent branches or ridged masses or stalked lobes; detachable dermis black, internal color cream. Oscules flush to the surface, scattered and on ridged protuberances. Consistency of the dermis slightly leathery, choanosome crumbly. Within The Bahamas, our material varies slightly with locality in the spicule complement (width and shape of aspidaster spicule, size of tylaster spicule, etc.), but the overall shape and color are quite similar and we are quite certain that there is a single open reef species in the Caribbean. There are other species names available that vary only slightly and subtly in spicule complement and shape, which call for a thorough revision of the genus in the W. Atlantic (see Cárdenas et al., 2009). |
Sollas, 1886 |
black,cream,branching,encrusting,massive,soft,crumbly |
| Demospongiae |
Astrophorida |
Geodiidae |
Geodia ?corticostylifera |
5 |
Spherical to oval sponge with an even outer surface (pierced with pores) and an upper central circular depression (sometimes rimmed) where oscules are located. Cinnamon-tan to greenish gray in color. Very hard and difficult to cut owing to its leathery cortex (the interior is softer, cream in color). Megasclere spicules are large oxea, smaller cortical styloids (styles with narrow heads) and oxeas, and orthotriaenes. Spicule preparations show very large (several mm long) broken shafts of spicules whose identity could not be defined. Microsclere spicules are round sterrasters (conforming the cortex) and acanthooxiasters. Identity is pending as previous descriptions of the species do not include spherical forms. |
Hajdu, Muricy, Custodio, Russo & Peixinho, 1992 |
cinnamon-tan,yellow,green,orange,spherical,massive,hard |
| Demospongiae |
Astrophorida |
Geodiidae |
Geodia gibberosa |
2 |
Massive, brown-black upper exposed side, with a field of oscules located in a depression; white unexposed sides with pore sieves. We have not yet found G. papyracea Hechtel, 1965 in the Bahamas, another species inhabiting mangrove stilt roots, which is crumblier. We base our identification in the presence of a small category of oxea spicules traversing abundantly the cortex of sterraster spicules (also present in Sidonops neptuni, which has a different form and habitat). Many oxeas appear flexuous in dried and mounted sections, as in G. flexisclera Pulitzer-Finali, 1986, described from the Bahamas but synonymized with G. gibberosa in the World Porifera Database (and by Cárdenas et al., 2009), but the flexion is, in our case, an artifact of section preparation. |
Lamarck, 1815 |
white,black,brown,massive,crumbly,tough |
| Demospongiae |
Astrophorida |
Geodiidae |
Sidonops neptuni |
10 |
Also placed under genus Geodia. Large and thick, inverted tan cones, with furrows in the inner surface and scattered holes in the outer surface. Consistency very hard and tough, difficult to cut or tear. |
(Sollas, 1888) |
brown,cinnamon-tan,vase,tube,massive,hard,tough |
| Demospongiae |
Astrophorida |
Pachastrellidae |
Dercitus (Halinastra) luteus |
4 |
Bright lemon yellow encrustations or cavity-filling masses living in crevices and under corals, with the tissue peculiarly stretched from wall to floor or wall to wall. It turns dark purple-brown when exposed to air. Originally placed under genus Pachataxa (P. lutea) of family Calthropellidae (see van Soest et al., 2010). Material from the Bahamas only has a few of the calthrop megasclere spicules characteristic of the species, and quite deformed and of much smaller size than those from the type locality (Jamaica) and from Colombia. |
(Pulitzer-Finali, 1986) |
yellow,encrusting,massive,tough |
