Mycale (Oxymycale) acerata Kirkpatrick 1907

• Main Authors: Göcke, Christian, Janussen, Dorte
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: Zenodo 2013
• Subjects: Biodiversity; Taxonomy; Animalia; Porifera; Demospongiae; Poecilosclerida; Mycalidae; Mycale; Mycale acerata; Antarctic; Weddell Sea; Weddell; Burton; Fanning; McClintock; Antarc*
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6145308; https://zenodo.org/record/6145308

Mycale (Oxymycale) acerata Kirkpatrick, 1907 (Fig. 10 C) Mycale acerata Kirkpatrick, 1907: 280 –282, 1908: 36, pl. 20, fig. 1, pl. 24, fig. 10. Burton 1929: 430, 1934: 23, pl. 8, figs. 1–4. Koltun 1964: 33, pl. 5, figs. 1 –7, 1976: 169. Boury-Esnault & Van Beveren 1982: 52–53, figs. 14 f–i. Ríos et al. 2004: 110– 111, fig. 9. Synonymy: Mycale acerata var. minor Hentschel, 1914: 63 –64. Mycale acerata var. sphaerulosa Hentschel, 1914: 63. Material. 11 fragmentary specimens from station 048- 1 (SMF 11800, 11848 grown together with a specimen of Myxilla asigmata , 11849, 11850, 11859–11865), the true number of specimens sampled cannot be reconstructed from the fragments; 602.1 m, 70 ° 23.94 ' S, 8 ° 19.14 ' W, 12.01. 2008. Material examined for comparison: BMNH 1908.2. 5.170, holotype, National Antarctic Expedition HMS “Discovery”, W.Q. 25.IX.03, 12 hole (243), described in Kirkpatrick (1908), wet specimen. Description. Massive, soft sponges, whitish in ethanol. Skeleton a plumose reticulation of anastomosing spicular-spongin fibres fanning out towards the surface. Basal fibres very thick, in older parts of the sponge body often the only remains after tissue has decayed. Thus the sponges show a very characteristic habit as a mixture of living and dead parts. Surface covered by a distinct reticular ectosome. Oxeas 550 to 950 µm long, palmate anisochelae 80 to 100 µm long. Remarks. This well-known and wide-spread species has been described and illustrated in detail by Kirkpatrick (1908), Koltun (1964) and Ríos et al . (2004). Our new specimens are in accordance with earlier descriptions. The typical growth form has been pictured by Kirkpatrick (1908) and Ríos (2006), and is even recognizable on underwater-photographs taken by ROV. Representatives of this species are the largest and also among the most abundant sponges sampled on SYSTCO I station 048- 1, although the total number of specimens cannot be evaluated due to the fragmentary state of most specimens. As these sponges are both large and abundant, they very likely provide a great range of habitats for associated fauna. This will be examined in a separate study conducted on our new material. As a constraint to this point though, we have to state that the species has proven to be toxic at least for goldfish (McClintock, 1987). : Published as part of Göcke, Christian & Janussen, Dorte, 2013, Demospongiae of ANT XXIV / 2 (SYSTCO I) Expedition — Antarctic Eastern Weddell Sea, pp. 28-101 in Zootaxa 3692 (1) on page 74, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3692.1.5, http://zenodo.org/record/249019