Cladorhiza corticocancellata, CARTER, 1876

Hestetun, Jon Thomassen, Tompkins-Macdonald, Gabrielle & Rapp, Hans Tore, 2017, A review of carnivorous sponges (Porifera: Cladorhizidae) from the Boreal North Atlantic and Arctic, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 181, pp. 1-69 : 25-26

CLADORHIZA CORTICOCANCELLATA CARTER, 1876

( FIGS 19, 20)

Original description: Cladorhiza abyssicola var. corticocancellata Carter, 1876: 320 .

Synonyms and citations: Cladorhiza abyssicola in part ( Hansen, 1885: 16); C. abyssicola var. corticocancellata in part ( Arnesen, 1903: 12); C. corticocancellata ( Lundbeck, 1905: 93; Burton, 1934: 9, 24; Koltun, 1964: 163).

Type material examined: HMS ‘ Porcupine’ 1869. Lectotype: BMNH 82.7 .28.19, st. 52 (west of Shetland, 60°25ʹN, 008°10ʹW, 702 m). Paralectotypes: BMNH 82.7 .28.67 and BMNH 82.7 .28.82, st. 57 (60°14ʹN, 006°17ʹW, 1156 m) .

O t h e r m a t e r i a l e x a m i n e d: T h e D a n i s h I n g o l f Expedition, M/S ‘Michael Sars’ 1900–1902, M/S ‘Thor’ 1903, BIOICE, R/V ‘G.O. Sars’ 2008–155, GeoBio 2009–2011 (see Supporting information).

Comparative material examined: C. methanophila Vacelet & Boury-Esnault, 2002 , ‘Atlantis’ AT 21-02, J633-5.

Diagnosis: Erect Cladorhiza with a branching morphology. Stem covered in a thick layer of soft tissue containing a large number of partly coalesced filaments creating a characteristic surface with numerous cavities. Megascleres mycalostyles; microscleres one type of chela c. 25–38 µm, characteristic sigmas with points turned outwards c. 112–182 µm and sigmancistras c. 47–96 µm. Description: Compared to closely related species, this is a large and solid Cladorhiza species. The examined specimens are branching, up to 20 cm in length, with branches consisting of a hard, central stem covered in a thick outer layer with a very characteristic lacunose surface stemming from partly coalesced filaments, which are very numerous and issue in all directions. The branches are typically in the range of 5–10 mm in diameter, but in some cases coalesce into thicker structures. The species is connected to the substrate with an amorphous growth or plate. The soft outer layer tends to disassociate from the hard, central stem after storage in ethanol. The colour in ethanol is whitish grey to light beige ( Figs 19A–E, 20A).

Skeleton : The skeleton of the stem core is made up of mycalostyle spicule bundles forming a solid core surrounded by looser tissue at the surface. The skeleton of the filaments originate in the centre of the main skeleton and is made up of tightly packed mycalostyles, with a slight, softer outer layer ( Fig. 20B, C).