Geodiidae Gray 1867

• Main Author: Łukowiak, Magdalena
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: unknown
• Published: Zenodo 2015
• Subjects: Biodiversity; Taxonomy; Animalia; Porifera; Demospongiae; Astrophorida; Geodiidae; North Atlantic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6108543; http://treatment.plazi.org/id/2125D91F1B30296B7ED9C1ADF6ADF852

Family Geodiidae Gray, 1867a (Subfamily Erylinae) Although the taxonomic position of the genus Penares is still uncertain (at first different species of Penares were even placed in different families, e.g., Ancorinidae, Plakinidae; for more details see World Porifera Database), in this paper it is considered as belonging to the geodiid subfamily Erylinae. Very characteristic triaenes with leaf-shaped clad branches are among the studied spicules (Figs. 4 U–X) that are almost identical with those of Recent erylinid species Penares sclerobesa Topsent, 1904. Today, this species inhabits only the North Atlantic Ocean (the Azores; van Soest et al . 2013). However, the spicules with only slightly less leaf-shaped cladome characterize also other present-day species— Penares cf. sphaera (Lendenfeld, 1907) that occurs today in South Africa, and they are also close to some spicules of the sponges from the family Calthropellidae (see van Soest & Hooper 2002b, fig. 1E). Moreover, similar spicules are encountered in lithistids but they are less leaf-shaped than the ones described here. From Australia, there are only three species of Penares recorded: Penares sollasi Thiele, 1900, P. schulzei (Dendy, 1905), and P. ob t u s u s (Lendenfeld, 1907; Atlas of Living Australia), but none of them has spicules similar to those discussed here. Considering this fact, the studied spicules are interpreted as belonging to P. cf. sclerobesa . From the fossil record similar spicules were described by Mostler (1986, pl. 8, figs. 5–6) from the Rhaetian of the Alps but without precise taxonomical assignment. Similar spicules are also described from the Jurassic of Germany by Dunikowski (1882, pl. 2, fig. 20) but assigned to Stelletta sp. This morphotype is also known from the numerous Cenozoic strata (see Wiedenmayer 1994). This study is the first time when Penares cf. sclerobesa was described in the fossil record. Apart from undoubted geodiid spicules, some characteristic spicules called pynakids were found in the studied material (Figs. 4 ...