Chondrocladia (Chondrocladia) clavata Ridley & Dendy 1886
- Dataset
- Carnivorous sponges from the Australian Bathyal and Abyssal zones collected during the RV Investigator 2017 Expedition
- Rank
- SPECIES
Classification
- kingdom
- Animalia
- phylum
- Porifera
- class
- Demospongiae
- order
- Poecilosclerida
- family
- Cladorhizidae
- genus
- Chondrocladia
- species
- Chondrocladia clavata
description
Description: Growth form: An erect pedunculate ‘ crinorhiza’ form sponge with a subspherical body bearing long tentacular processes, supported by a long thin stem, terminating in long bifurcated root-like anchor processes. The body often has an apical nipple, or tuft of mycalostyles (Figure 18 B). Specimens range from 40 – 44 mm long, with subspherical body 6 – 9 mm diameter, tentacular process 9 – 26 mm long, 0.2 – 0.6 mm diameter, the stem is a tapering cone 1.5 – 7 mm in diameter and 3 – 9 mm in length, basal root processes 16 – 27 mm long, 0.2 – 0.5 mm diameter. Antarctic specimen SAMA S 313 is a maximum of 56 mm long, with subspherical body 16 mm diameter, tentacular process 11 mm long, 0.3 – 0.5 mm diameter, the stem is 1 mm in diameter and 35 mm in length, and has no basal root processes. Another Antarctic specimen SAMA S 3575 has a total length of 26 mm, with the stem 18 mm in length and 1 mm in diameter, a subspherical body of 18 mm in diameter, also with no basal root processes. The remainder of the tentacular processes are only a maximum of 1.5 mm in length. This species has been well described by previous authors and matches with previous descriptions. Colour: Light brown with white stalk, light yellow to tan with ectosome removed. Ectosomal skeleton: The ectosome consists of a crust of isochelae and sigmas (Figures 19 A – D). In the body of the sponge this is penetrated by the smaller mycalostyles from the ectosome producing the hispid surface (Figure 19 B). Endosomal skeleton: The endosome in the body consists of the radially orientated bundles of large mycalostyles that form the filaments. Subectosomally there is a confused predominantly radial assortment of the smaller mycalostyles penetrating through the ectosome to the surface. The endosome also contains the isochelae and the sigmas (Figure 19 A). The endosome of the filaments consists of the parallel mycalostyles in an extremely well organised bundle (Figure 19 C – D). The endoosome of the stem and root processes also consist of a tightly bound longitudinally orientated mycalostyles. Megascleres: Styles in two categories, large mycalostyles (916 – 2820 x 20 – 50 µm), and thinner supporting styles (387 – 1190 x 5 – 19 µm), (see Table 11). The large mycalostyles occur in the stem, the body and the filaments. The smaller styles occur mainly in the body radially orientated and penetrating the ectosome producing the hispid surface of the body, but also occur in the filaments and the stem and roots. These styles could also be described as a continuous range of the one type, as was probably done in the original description. Microscleres: Tridentate unguiferate anchorate isochelae (20 – 65 x 2 – 7 µm) in two sizes, but with intermediate sizes, and sigmas (39 – 75 x 1.5 – 3 µm) (see Table 11). Molecular data: The 28 S sequence of QM G 337490 is provided in the Sponge Barcoding Database under accession number SBD # 2307 and the molecular difference to other congenerics displayed in Figure 3.
description
Figures 18 & 19, Tables 10 & 11
discussion
Remarks: These specimens match the previous descriptions of Ch. (Ch.) clavata Ridley & Dendy (1887), and more recently Dressler-Allame et al. (2017) who described some specimens from the Weddell Sea, Antarctica. Examination of the holotype confirmed the size ranges of the isochelae to be similar to the new specimens from this expedition. Our specimens are more similar to the Fijian type specimen in lacking the small mycalostyles (Styles II) described in the Antarctic specimens by Dressler-Allame et al. (2017), and are closer to the medium-small sized mycalostyles described by Lévi, (1964) from Madagascar. Unusually, published records suggest that the species has a wide bathymetric distribution, extending from the shallow mesophotic (e. g. 250 m, Ridley & Dendy 1886), bathyal (1060 – 2650 m, present study), to abyssal depths (e. g. 4820 m, Lévi 1964). Molecular studies may reveal whether these differences are enough to warrant the separation of Ch. (Ch.) clavata into several distinct species. This species also resembles Ch. (Ch.) crinita Ridley & Dendy (1886) in external morphology, but has much smaller isochelae. It also bears some resemblance to Cladorhiza nematophora Lévi, 1964, but lacks the tridentate unguiferate anisochelae, having instead tridentate unguiferate isochelae.
distribution
Distribution: This species has been recorded from many locations in the Southern hemisphere including: Fiji (Ridley & Dendy 1886, 1887), Antarctica (Burton 1929; Koltun 1964, Dressler-Allame et al. 2017), Madagascar (Lévi 1964), New Zealand (Bergquist 1972, Kelly et al. 2009), and Eastern Australia (present study), bathyal depth.
materials_examined
Material examined: Holotype: NHMUK 1887.5. 2.169, Kandavu, Fiji, Station 174, 19 ° 6 ’ 00 ” S, 178 ° 14 ’ 20 ” E, 256 m, Coll. H. M. S. Challenger, 2 specimens, 3 / viii / 1874. Other material: QM G 337490 off Jervis Bay, News South Wales, Australia, 35 ° 19 ’ 58.8 ” – 35 ° 19 ’ 55.2 ” S, 151 ° 15 ’ 28.9 ” – 151 ° 12 ’ 50.4 ” E, 2650 – 2636 m, Beam Trawl, Coll. Merrick Ekins on RV Investigator, Cruise IN 2017 _ V 03, Sample 56 - 250, 20 specimens, 29 / v / 2017. QM G 337491 same collection details as QM G 337490, Sample 56 - 252, 4 specimens. QM G 337500 off Hunter Valley, News South Wales, Australia, 32 ° 28 ’ 44.4 ” – 32 ° 30 ’ 25.1 ” S, 152 ° 59 ’ 38.4 ” – 152 ° 59 ’ 27.6 ” E, 1006 – 1036 m, Beam Trawl, Coll. Merrick Ekins on RV Investigator, Cruise IN 2017 _ V 03, Sample 69 - 247, 2 specimens, 3 / vi / 2017. QM G 337508 Central Eastern Commonwealth Marine Reserve, News South Wales, Australia, 30 ° 5 ’ 51.7 ” – 30 ° 7 ’ 9.5 ” S, 153 ° 53 ’ 55.3 ” – 153 ° 52 ’ 28.2 ” E, 2429 – 2518 m, Beam Trawl, Coll. Merrick Ekins on RV Investigator, Cruise IN 2017 _ V 03, Sample 86 - 187, 1 specimen, 5 / vi / 2017. SAMA S 313, Southern Ocean, off Enderby Land, Antarctica, BANZARE Station 41, 65 ° 48 ’ S, 53 ° 16 ’ E, 193 m, Large Monegasque Trawl, Coll. BANZARE, 24 / i / 1930. SAMA S 3575, same collection details as SAMA S 313. NHMUK 1926.10.26.152 a, Off Glacier Tongue, about 8 miles north of Hut Point, McMurdo Sound, Antarctica, Terra Nova Station 316, 77 ° 45 ’ S, 166 ° 24 ’ E, 348 – 457 m, Agassiz Trawl, Coll. RV Terra Nova, 9 / ii / 1911. NHMUK 1926.10.26.153 a, same collection details as NHMUK 1926.10.26.152 a. NHMUK 1926.10.26.154 a, 5 miles north of Inaccessible Island, McMurdo Sound, Antarctica, Terra Nova Station 314, 77 ° 36 ’ S, 166 ° 12 ’ E, 406 – 441 m, Agassiz Trawl, Coll. RV Terra Nova, 23 / i / 1911.