Lycopodina versatilis, (TOPSENT, 1890)

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 : 55-56

LYCOPODINA VERSATILIS ( TOPSENT, 1890)

( FIG. 41; TABLE 5)

Original description: Forcepia versatilis Topsent, 1890: 66 .

Synonyms and citations: Forcepia versatilis ( Topsent, 1892: 100) .

Diagnosis: Small, pedunculate, Lycopodina with cylindrical body, megascleres subtylostyles only, palmate/arcuate anisochelae 27 µm, noncrossing forceps spicules 76 µm and embryos, where present, containing strongyles and oxeas.

Related species: Lycopodina lycopodium ( Levinsen, 1887) ; L. occidentalis (Lambe, 1900) ; L. gracilis ( Koltun, 1955) ; L. novangliae sp. nov.

Etymology: Dedicated to Ole S. Tendal, at the Natural History Museum of Denmark, for his many contributions to the knowledge of the sponge fauna of the North-eastern Atlantic and elsewhere.

Remarks: Initial identification of this species was through the molecular phylogeny results in Hestetun et al. (2016b) showing two clearly separate clades of specimens identified as L. lycopodium . The new species is described based on specimens associated with the clade containing L. infundibulum in that phylogeny. Somewhat surprising as they are not sister taxa in Description: Only the holotype is known from this species. The following description is based on Topsent (1890, 1892): Small, pedunculate, Lycopodina with ovoid, cylindrical body 8 × 10 mm, damaged during collection, possibly with shallow, cup-like depression. Peduncle 15 mm in length with basal part missing. Colour in ethanol light yellow ( Fig. 41A).

Skeleton : The skeleton was not described in detail by Topsent, but is presumably similar to related species, that is peduncle made up of tightly packed subtylostyles that diverge to form the main body. No shorter type or tapering subtylostyles, which are present and projecting from the sponge surface in the related species L. comata and L. infundibulum , were recorded by Topsent.