Table Of ContentDICTYOCERATIDA. DENDROCERATIDA ANDVERONGIDA FROMTHENEW
CALEDONIALAGOON (PORIFERA DEMOSPONGIAE)
;
P.R.BERGQUIST
Bcrgquixt, P.R. 1995 0601: Dictyoceratida, Dendroceratidaand Verongidafrom theNew
CaledoniaLagoon(Porifera Dernospongiae).Memoirsofthe QueenslandMuseum38(1):
:
1-51. Brisbane. ISSN0079-8835.
TwentyninespeciesofspongesbelongingtotheordersDictyoceratida,Dendroceratidaand
Verongidaaredescribedfromthelagoon,andfringingandadjacentreefsofNewCaledonia.
Of these, eighteen are Dictyoceratida and ten are new species, five are Dendroceratida
includingtwonewspecies,andsixareVerongidaofwhich fivearenew. Allrepresentnew
records for the region. The fauna cannot be compared with those ofIndo-West Pacific,
MicronesiaandTropicalAustraliabecauseofthelackofdetailedstudyandgooddescriptions
inallcases,andbecausemany newgeneraremain tobedescribedfromallregions.Generic
and familial diagnoses are included for all species recorded. Dictyoceratida,
Dendroceratida, Verongida, NewCaledonia, shallow-watersponges, lagoon, newgenera,
newspecies.
Patricia R. Bergquixt, Zoology Department, UniversityofAuckland, Pri\'ote Bag 92019,
Auckland, NewZealand: 1 November 1994.
Prior to the work of Hooper & L6vi (1993a, cies remain lo be described. For the
1993b), only about 170 species of Porifera had Dictyoceratida, Dendroceratida and Verongida
beendescribed fromtheNewCaledonianregion. many species in the ORSTOM collections were
ForDemospongiae in this region, the majorem- represented by single specimens, and in large
phasis has been on the deeper water fauna (Levi genera, particularly Spongia, Dysidea and Ir-
&
Levi 1983a, 1983b, 1988, Livi 1991) and the cinia,thisisinadequatefordiagnosisanddescrip-
only record of a sponge belonging to the tionofnewspecies.
Dictyoceratida, Dendroceratida or the Ver- This work records dominant species which
ongida,isthatofIrciniaaligem(Burton)byLevi wererepresented by severalspecimens, and spe-
and Levi (1983b). No authors dealing with shal- cieswhereconfidentidentificationcouldbemade
lowwaterfaunashaverecordedanyspeciesfrom on the basis of individual specimens. Full de-
thesamethreeorders.Levi (1979),inareviewof scriptionsofpreviouslydescribed species arein-
the demosponge fauna of the New Caledonian cluded only where earlier literature is deficient.
area, referred to the occurrence of "extensive Colourillustrationsenvisaged forthe fieldguide
populationsofmassive speciesofSpongia, Dys- will add greatly to the figures included in this
idea* Ircinia, Fasciospongia" and statedthat all manuscript.
genera of Dendroceratida were present as was
"massive Psammaplysilld* (Verongida). These METHODS
commentsareinlarge measureaccurate, butthus
farnotaxomonic descriptionsofthisfauna have Methodsused toprepareandexaminesponges
rweaatcehredantdhereleifterfaatuurnea. oTfhitshedefNieciwt fCoarlesdhoanlilaonw forlightmicroscopy arestandard.These,andthe
charactersusedindescriptionofspongesbelong-
regionappliedin manyspongegroups,but itwas ing tothe ordersDictyoceratida, Dendroceratida
most extreme for the three orders considered in
and Verongida, have been detailed elsewhere
thispaper. (Bergquist 1980). Investigation ofierpenecom-
Based on the excellent sponge collections positionfollowedproceduresoutlinedinBergqu
amassedbyORSTOMovermanyyears,acollab- istel al. (1990a,b). All skeletal and histological
orative project involving New Zealand, French, descriptions are based on quoted voucher sam-
and Australian sponge systematise was ples; information on species distribution, ecol-
launched. The aim, following a series ofwork- ogy, live characteristics are based on personal
shops and some field work* was to produce a communicationwithORSTOMdivers,perusalof
taxonomic inventory ofthe shallow water fauna their photographic archives, and on discussion
ORSTOM
and a lay field guide to the major species. It is withcolleagues atthe workshops. All
recognised, however, that many additional spe- colournotations relate to Munsell (1942). Diag-
MEMOIRSOFTHEQUEENSLANDMUSEUM
nosesofordersareasgivenbyBergquist(1980), the wholeisspringyand verycompressible, sup-
diagnoses offamiliesandgenera, someofwhich ple and elastic. The surface is never heavily
arerevised, aregiven in all cases. Abbreviations armoured, is covered with low, even, conules,
used in the text are - AUZ, University ofAuck- and most frequently is pigmented black, brown,
land,Zoology;BMNH,TheNaturalHistoryMu- or gray; the interior is white to beige. The form
seum, London; ORSTOM, InstituteFrancaisede ofthe spongeis variable, butcommonly massive
Recherche Scientifique pour le Developpement spherical, lamellate, orctipshapcd.
en Co-operation, Centre de Noumea; QM,
QueenslandMuseum. Brisbane. TypeSpecies
SpongiaofficinalisLinne, 1759,by subsequent
SYSTEMATICS designation(Bowerbank 1862).
OrderDICTYOCERATIDAMinchin Spongiaaustmlissp. nov.
FamilySPONG1IDAEGray, 1867 (Fig. 1A-C)
DiagnosticRemarks MaterialExamined
Dictyoceratida in which the spongin fibres Holotype; QMG304682 ORSTOM (R1330) Stn.
makinguptheanastomosingskeletalnetworkare 198.Chenaldescinq milles. 22°30'04S. 166345'04E;
homogeneous in cross-section, showing no ten- 20mdepth, 11 Feb 1982.Coll G. Bargirv-m
dency to fracture around planes of concentric
lamination. Fibrescontainnopith,butfrequently Diagnosis
incorporate sandy detritus. There is typically a Steel blue-graySpongia withasand reinforced
hierarchy of fibres in terms of orientation and dermal membrane anda harsh texture.
diameter, but primary elements are reduced in
somegenera.Choanocytechambersarediptodal, Descrution
and the matrix is never heavily infiltrated by Asinglespecimenofthisspecieswasavailable.
collagen. The texture of the interior is rough to Thespongebody isthick, spreading, 12by 16cm
the touch, reflecting thedensity ofspongin skel- wide, 5cmdeep with irregularly undulating con-
eton in relation to soft tissue.The whole body is toursandoscularturretsdispersedrandomly.The
compressible and resilientexcept where thesur- texture is compressible, springy, but firmer than
face is heavily sand-encrusted. The skeletal net- that ofcommercial quality species ofthe genus.
work is never constructed on a precise The oscules are elevated, 3 - 12mm in diameter,
rectangular pattern. The sponge surface, where poresaresmallandscattered.Thecolourisbluish
notsand-armoured, isalwaysconulose. greyinlife (P-B5/2),chocolate brown inalcohol
(Y-R-Y5/2).
Spongia Linne, 1759 Surface. The surface is microconulose to
smooth inpatches, slightly abrasive tothe touch,
EuspongiaBronn, 1859;0f7e/t/Schm»di. 1862 asaresultofaconcentrationofsandinthedermal
membrane. This forms a layer 5O-250p.m deep
TypeSpecies but doesnot form acompact crust.
SpongiaofficinalisLinne, 1759,bysubsequent Skeleton. The skeleton is a dense network
designation (Bowerbank 1862), predominantly of uncored secondary fibres 5-
25p.rn in diameter. Primary fibres are frequent,
DfAGNOsncRemarks cored, 4O-70jim in diameter, andmostevidentin
Spongiidae in which the primary fibres are theimmediate subsurfaceregion. The secondary
reducedin numberandthehighlydeveloped sec- networkisparticularlydensearoundlargeexhal-
ondarynetworkoffine, intertwined fibres makes antcanals.
upthebulkoftheskeleton. Primaryfibrescontain Soft tissue organisation. The soft tissue is
acentral axisofforeign material, andaremostin evenly and very lightly infiltrated by collagen,
evidence near the sponge surface. Secondary fi- with the ectosomal region differentiated only by
bres contain no foreign material. The texture of the presence of large exhalant canals. Choano-
FIG. 1. A-C, Spongia austmlis sp. nov. A, Holotype QMG3Q4682, preserved specimen (x 0.5). B. Holotype
QMG304682, in situ (x 0.75) C. Photomicrograph showingprimary and secondary skeleton and the dermal
?
sandylayer(x 100).
NEWCALEDONIAN 'HORNY* SPONGES
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MEMOIRSOFTHEQUEENSLANDMUSEUM
^i
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'•
;
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NfcWCALEDONIAN 'HORNY' SPONGES
cytc chambers arc circular, and I5-20|iin in di- Coscinoderma mathewsi Lendcnfeld, 1889; 334, pi.
ameter. 12.fig.7;pL20,figs.9, 10.
Hippospongia communis subspecies ammala, dr
Remarks Laubenfels, 1954:9,pi H,fig.6.
It is difficult to establish a new specks within
thegenusSpongiainwhichtherearemanynames Material Examined
supported by descriptions which will not permit HOLOTYWB: BMNH.86.S.27.301.Dryspecimen,Coll.
comparison with newly collected specimens. Ponape.
Most descriptions which deal with species from Other Material: MBI P05-80. Coll. Patau, OR-
the southern oceans give no information oncol* S16T1O=2M6*<?RO66E4.)32Stmnd.e2p3t3h,,1PaSsespetd19e78Y.anCodlel,.2P.0°L0ab5o,u0t0eS..
our, surface, texture, habitat, orhistology. Since
the skeletal characteristics in Spongia are rela-
Description
tively invariant, one is left only with gross mor~ A
Ehology andgeographic distributionon whichto singOleRsSpTecOiMmenofthisspeciesisrepresented
ase any assignment to an older name. Type in the collections. It is a massive,
material, where extant, is rarely more than a dry hemispherical sponge. 20cm high. 32cm wide
skeleton, Spongia australis can be distinguished with oscules located laterally and apically along
from all otherwell described speciesbythe steel low lamellate extensions ofthe general surface.
blue gray colour, the presence of a sand rein- The texture is extremely soft and compressible,
forced dermal membrane andby the ratherharsh indicativeofspongin fibreofthehighestquality.
Oscules are flush with the surface, 2-6mrn in
texture.
diameter with smooth dermal membrane sur-
Etymology rounding and with a slightly elevated elastic lip.
The species name refers to the southern ocean Colourin lifegrayishblack, externally, paleyel-
distributionofthe sponge. low/browninternally(rY /6 ). in spiritthesame.
Thehabitatwascoral rubbleonthesandylagoon
bottom.
Distribution
Surface. The surface isstrongly conulose with
Known only from New Caledonia. adjacentelementslinkedbysurfacetractstofarm
anintricateregularreticulum. Individualconules
CoscinodermaCarter, 1883 are l-3mm high with rounded tips. The derma!
membrane is tightly adherent lo the underlying
TypeSpecies tissue despite the presence of an organised sand
Spongia pesleonis Lamaxk, 1814, redeseribed cortex 250-35Qjtmdeep.
as Coscinodermapesleonisby Topsent (1930). Skeleton. The skeleton is a network ofslightly
trellised, thin primary fibres which incorporate
DiagnosticRemarks coring material, and secondary fibres which are
Spongiidae in which the primary fibres are thin,vermiformandintertwining Thelattermake
cored and the secondary elements are clear, ex- upthebulkoftheskeleton- Primaryfibresare40-
tremelyfine, numerous,andintertwined.Carter's lOO^rnindiameter,secondaries3-12jirnindiam-
analogy with 'whorls ofwool' was apt. Thesur- eter.
faceofthesponge isinvestedwithasandarmour, Softtissue organisation. Anectosomal region.
but the texture remains soft, spongy, and ex- 250-350nm deep, is differentiated; it is marked
tremelycompressible.Thespongebodyisflabel- by collagen tractsrunningparallel tothesurface.
late, pyriform, massive, or pedunculate, .with These provide support and cohesion to the S3nd
apical or marginal oscules. cortex. Deep to this region the choanosome has
light, uniform collagen deposition and spherical
Coscinoderma mathewsi (Lendcnfeld) 886 choanocytechambers 15-30jim in diameter.
1
(Fig.2A,B)
Remarks
Eiispongia mathewsi Lendcnfeld, 1886: 520, pi. 36, Lendenfeld (1885) established this species for
fig. 6. a dry sponge from Ponape which he considered
HG. 2. A.B, Coscinoderma mathewsi (Ledenfeld, 1886). A, preserved specimen (x 0.5). B.photomicrograph
showingthe thin fibresof(he secondary skeleton(x 100)-
.
6 MEMOIRSOFTHEQUEENSLANDMUSEUM
couspeciflc with Cosanodernui lanuginosum face. Somespiculedebriscanoccurin secondary
Carter. The original description of C, mathewsi fibres. Atthe surface there isathin sand armour,
(as Euspongia) is an amalgamation of Carter's thetextureis alwaysfirm.
description of lanuginosum and description of
skeletal organisation and dimensions based on Leiosellaranvosa sp nov,
the dry specimen of C. mathewsi. By 1889 (Rg.3A,B)
Lendenfeld had revised his earlier view and
recognised the genus Coscinoderma within
which both lanuginosum and mathewsi were MaterialExamined
viewedas validspecies. He did notaddanything HOLOTYPE: QMG304683 ORSTOM (RI3l2i SLn.
tothedescriptionofC. mathewsibut figured the 323, RecifdesFrancais, 19"ir30S, 163C05'13E, 10-
holotype. This specimen, on re-examination is 60radepth,23Aug 1981.Coll. P. Laboule
massive, cake shaped with prominent oscules
scattered on the upper, slightlyconcavesurface.
Diagnosis
Examination of the of the holotype skeleton
confirms the identity of the New Caledonian Leiosellahavingaramoseform,prominentsux-
C
specimen with mathewsi.Theonlyotherpub- ficial sand crust and a skeletal network pre-
iished record ofthe sponge is by de Laubenfels dominently ofsecondary uncored fibres
(1954) as Hippospongia communis sub species
ammatafrom Kuop Atoll, PonapeandTruk. The
Description
habitat he recorded "on the lagoon bottom on
deadcoral" is identical to the habitatofthe New A singlespecimenwasavailable. Itisaramose
Caledonian specimen. De Laubenfels' descrip- sponge branching from a single base of attach-
tion includes an excellent figure (PI.II, fig.6) of ment 4cm wide, to a height of 35cm. Stalk and
the very distinctive surface of C. mathewsi individualbranchesareellipticalincrosssection
Bergquist (1980), having examined only the dry Thesurfaceischanneledbyexhalantcanalscon-
holotype. without access tosections, referred C. verging toward theoscules, which are 2-3mm in
mathewsi to Spongia. That decision is revised diameter and located mainly on the sides of
here. branches rather than on the flattened face, and
Other identifications ofthis sponge have been lyingflushwiththesurface.Thereareareasofthe
madebythepresentauthorfromcollectionsmade surface in whichawhitesandcrustisevidentbut
in Palau by the Marine Biotechnology Institute thishaslargelybeenabraded.Colourinlifebeige
from Shizuoka,Japan, and frompersonalcollec- (rY8/4), in spirit brown throughout (yY-Rs/6).
tions in Fiji, The texture is harshJustcompressible.
Surface. In life the surface is smooth, domi-
Distribution nated by a very finely reticulated sandy crust,
Caroline Islands, Ponape, Kuop, Truk, Palau. which is developed only in the plane ofthe sur-
Fiji, New Caledonia, face.
Skeleton. The skeleton is a network predomi-
Leiosella Lendenfeld, 1889 nantly ofuncored secondary fibres, 10-40mm in
diameter, in a very tight anastomosing pattern.
Type Species Primary fibres are simple and cored, ofuniform
Leiosella elegansLendenfeld. 1889, by subse- diameter, 50-70mm, in the deeper parts of the
quent designation ofdeLaubenfels(1936). sponge, but becoming fasciculated where they
convergetowardthe surface. The secondary net-
DiagnosticRemarks workiscompressedandcompactedinthe500|im
Cup shaped, lohed, flabellate or ramose below the surface.
Spongiidae with a skeletal network in which the Soft tissue organisation. The density of the
secondaryelementsbecome verydense.The pri- fibre network and the condition of the specimen
mary fibres are lightly cored and can become make observation difficult. Collagen deposition
fasciculateeitherwherethey condense outofthe is uniform and light, choanocyte chambers are
dense secondary network orjust below the sur- spherical !5-20jim in diameter.
FJG.3.A-B,Leiosellaramosasp.nov,HolotypeQMG304683,preservedspecimen(x0.25).B,Photomicrograph
showingprimaryandsecondaryfibreskeleton(x 100).
NEWCALEDONIAN 'HORNY' SPONGES
*WjJ
MEMOIRSOFTHEQUEENSLANDMUSEUM
NEWCALEDONIAN 'HORNY' SPONGES
Remarks morphology they form marked axial fascicles
Characteristics of the surface with its promi- disposedat right anglestothe primaryfibresand
nentsandcrust andtheorganisation oftheskele- extending throughout all but the most marginal
ton place this species within thegenusLeiosella. regions ofthe body. An organised sandcortex is
Within the genusthe ramose form isunique usually present on one or both surfaces, but it
never becomes a pronounced crust as in related
Etymology. generaCarteriospongiaandStrepsichordata,
The species name reflects the ramose form of
thesponge. Phyllospongiapapyracea (Esper) 1806
Distribution Spongia papyracea Esper: 1806, 38; Phyllospcmxia
Known only from New Caledonia papyracea Ehlers, 1870: 22;Bergquistetal. 1988:
t
304
PhylJospongiaEhlers, 1870
MaterialExamined
MauriceaCarter. 1877. Cotype; BMNH 31.4.1.la.
ORSTOM (R 1529) Stn. 480, Reef Doiman,
Type Species 20e35"02S( 165°08? E,52mdepth,28Mar1991.Coll
SpongiapapyraceaEsper, 1806,bysubsequent G.BargibaiU.
designation Burton (1934); Cotype
Remarks
BMNH1931Al.la.
This specks is well known and widespread- It
DiagnosticRemarks hasbeendescribedandfiguredbyBergquistetal.
Lamellate,vasiform,digitateorfoliosesponges (1988).
usually of very thin-walled construction, up to
4.0mm thick except in digitate forms which can Distribution
be up to 1cm in section. Surface is smooth mac- Widespread Indo-Pacific. Northern Great Bar-
roscopically, but irregularly corrugated and reg- rierReef, Northern Reefs New Caledonia.
ularly conulose microscopically. Oscules are
small, flush with the surface, or elevated on low- FamilyTHORECTIDAEBergquist, 1978
moundsemphasisedby sandand collagen depo-
sition around each rim. The skeleton is a rectan- DiagnosticRemarks
gularreticulationconstitutedofprimaryelements Dictyoceratida in which the spongin fibres
disposedatrighianglestothesurfaceandsecond- making up the anastomosing skeleton are laml
ary connecting elements aligned parallel to the nated in cross-section, with clear zones of dis-
surface. Primary elements may contain coring junction between successive layers. The central
material, but this is contained well within the regionofeachfibreisamorediffusepith;itisnot
investing spongin and never causes the fibre to sharply disjunct from the investing more dense
become irregularin outline. Secondary elements layer, as is the pith inthe Verongida, but merges
arenevercored andarcvariableinquantity;their into the outer layer. A pith is always evident in
relative dominance is proportional to the thick- theprimaryfibresandmayormaynotextendinto
nessofthe body construction. The patternofthe thesecondaryelementsoftheskeleton.The fibre
primaryandsecondaryskeletonisextremelyreg- skeleton is often extremely regular, with almost
ularandrectangular in very thinspecies; in those perfectly rectangular meshes. Some fibres can
with slightlythickerhabititbecomeslessregular become extremely stoui. Primary fibres can b«
as the secondary network expands between the greatly reduced innumberandarelackinginone
primary columns Tertiary fibrous elements are genus Choanocyte chambers are spherical and
also present. They are sometimes dispersed, but diplodal. The matrix is morecollagenous than in
predominantly are disposed asan axial skeleton. the Spongiidae, and macroscopically appears
Thesevermiformelementsareinvariablypresent slightly fleshy; its cellular composition can be
in basal and stalk regions. In forms with digitate complex, and some secretory cell types, the
FIG.4.A-C,Hyrtiosreticulata(Thiele),A.Preservedspecimen(x05).B,Photomicrographshowingcoalescence
ofsecondary fibres 10 produce a short primary tract below aconule <x 80). C, Photomicrograph showing the
subdermal lacunaeand theclearectosomalchoanosomal boundary(x 80).
10 MEMOIRS OFTHEQUEENSLANDMUSEUM
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B
