Latrunculia (Latrunculia) basilis Kirkpatrick. We 1908

• Main Authors: Samaai, Toufiek, Gibbons, Mark J., Kelly, Michelle
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: unknown
• Published: 2006
• Subjects: Biodiversity; Taxonomy; Animalia; Porifera; Demospongiae; Poecilosclerida; Latrunculiidae; Latrunculia; Latrunculia basilis; Antarctic; Wilhelm II Coast; Antarc*; Antarctica
• Online Access: https://zenodo.org/record/5057848; https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5057848

Latrunculia (Latrunculia) basilis Kirkpatrick, 1908 (Figs 1E, 2, 4D; Tables 2 & 3) Latrunculia apicalis var. basilis Kirkpatrick, 1908: 57; Latrunculia antarctica Tanita, 1959, P.7, FIG 7, 8; Latrunculia lendenfeldi; Koltun, 1964, pg. 23; Latrunculia brevis; Uriz, 1988, pg. 49, FIG. 25. Latrunculia lendenfeldi Hentschel, 1914, PG. 44, PL. V, FIG. 1 Holotype material. BMNH 1908.2.5.72, labeled Latrunculia apicalis var. basilis identified by Kirkpatrick, 1908, ethanol preserved sample (light brown­beige subsample of specimen, 10 x 10 x 2 mm in diameter) and microscope­slides, dredged off Balleney Island, Antarctic; depth 462 m, National Antarctic expedition, HMN Discovery 1901­04. Other material examined. ZMB 4812 (holotype), Labeled Latrunculia lendenfeldi Hentschel, 1914, seven microscope­slides, Wilhelm II Coast, Antarctica, 66º 2' 9''S; 89º 38'E, depth 385 m Description. Small encrusting sponge, 30 x 20 x 6 mm diameter. Surface smooth, but sandpapery with one volcano­shaped or conical osculum at the apex (recorded by Kirkpatrick), but not visible in the preserved type specimen, and mammiform areolate porefields 0.5 x 0.5 mm in diameter. Ectosome thin and transparent, easily separable from underlying choanosome. Colour in life light brown; in preservative light beige­brown. Skeleton. The choanosomal skeleton is a loose irregular polygonal­meshed reticulation formed by wispy tracts of smooth styles (Fig. 4D). These tracts range in width from 45–100 µm in thickness, forming meshes that are 273 µm wide. There is no distinction between the primary and secondary fibres. Towards the surface the spicules tend to be vertically arranged. The surface of the ectosome is lined with an erect layer of single anisodiscorhabds. Beneath the discorhabds in the ectosome is a thin paratangential layer of densely interlocking megascleres, approximately 227 µm wide. Spicules. Megascleres: styles are smooth, centrally thickened, fusiform and slightly sinuous, resembling strongyloxeas in appearance 554 (500–592) x 16 (16) m, n=20. ...