| Summary: | The Argentinian 2012 Summer Antarctic Expedition took place in the austral summer of 2012. One of its goals was the study of the benthic communities, considering the biodiversity and the distribution of the species around the Antarctic Peninsula and neighbouring islands. Samples were mainly collected by bottom trawling at eight locations. Sponges were sorted from the total catch, photographed, labelled, and frozen onboard, while identification was carried out using the classical methodology at the Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo Pesquero (INIDEP, Argentina). In this preliminary study, we provide data on sponges belonging to the Demospongiae Class. A total of 34 samples were collected, and at least 24 morphospecies were identified. The most represented Order was Poecilosclerida with 18 taxa (Isodictya erinacea, I. lankesteri, I. cf. verrucosa, Mycale (Oxymycale) acerata, M. (M.) cf. tridens, Phorbas glaberrimus, P. acantochela, Lissodendoryx (Ectyodoryx) anacantha, L. (E.) ramilobosa, L. (L.) flabellata, Artemisina apollinis, Myxodoryx hanitschi, Clathria (Axosuberites) nidificata, Tedania (Tedaniopsis) charcoti, Iophon unicorne, I. cf. aceratum, Myxilla (M.) mollis, and Kirkpatrickia aff. coulmani), followed by Haplosclerida with 5 taxa (Haliclonissa verrucosa, Haliclona sp., Calyx cf. arcuarius, Microxina charcoti, and Hemigellius cf. pilosus). The most frequently recorded species was Mycale (O.) acerata followed by species of the genera Isodictya and Lissodendoryx. Some of the recorded taxa such as Phorbas glaberrimus, Myxodoryx hanitschi, Phorbas cf. acanthochela, and Raspailia (Hymeraphiopsis) hentscheli have only scarce records in this region. The results of this study greatly contribute to the knowledge of the distribution and biodiversity of Antarctic sponges, a very important component of the benthic communities.
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