Crella (Pytheas) crassa

• Main Authors: Schejter, Laura, Cristobo, Javier, Ríos, Pilar
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: unknown
• Published: Zenodo 2024
• Subjects: Biodiversity; Taxonomy; Animalia; Porifera; Demospongiae; Poecilosclerida; Crellidae; Crella; Crella crassa; Antarc*; Antarctic; Antarctica; South Orkney Islands
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10562150; http://treatment.plazi.org/id/03D687FDC5018253FF45FBCB6C80B875

Crella (Pytheas) crassa (Hentschel, 1914) (Fig. 5a–f) Restricted synonymy: Grayella crassa Hentschel, 1914, Pytheas crassa (Hentschel, 1914). Material examined: 5 small specimens collected in station 11 (SOI; 60°53'S, 42°35'W; 487 m; 10/3/2014; MACN-In 44363; IEO-CSIC Col.). Description: Massive to elongate specimens, light beige. Surface areolated (Figure 5a). Ectosome is a dense layer of acanthostyles, supported by multispicular fibers in the choanosome (Figure 5e, f). Megascleres are strongyles 430–500µm by 10µm, and acanthostyles, some slightly curved, 100–180 µm by 5 µm. Microscleres are arcuate isochelae of 25 µm (Figure 5 b–d). Remarks: This species has been recorded from Antarctic waters by Henstchel (1914), Koltun (1964) and Göcke & Janussen (2013), among others. This is a new record for the SOI. Published as part of Schejter, Laura, Cristobo, Javier & Ríos, Pilar, 2024, New records of demosponges (Porifera) from the South Orkney Islands (Antarctica) with a checklist for the region, pp. 401-430 in Zootaxa 5403 (4) on page 411, DOI:10.11646/zootaxa.5403.4.1, http://zenodo.org/record/10562154