Callyspongia (Cladochalina) aculeata ( Linnaeus, 1759 )

Van Soest, Rob W. M., 2025, Typification of Porifera described in the 10 edition of Linnaeus’ Systema Naturae, volume II, 1759, Zootaxa 5638 (1), pp. 1-65 : 32-36

Callyspongia (Cladochalina) aculeata ( Linnaeus, 1759)

Figs 17A–H , 18A–C , 19

Spongia aculeata Linnaeus, 1759: 1348 , sp. 7; Linnaeus 1767: 1287, sp. 5; Houttuyn 1772: 439; Gmelin in Linnaeus 1791: 3818, sp. 5; Esper 1790: pl. VII–VIIA, 1794: 193 (text).

Spongia villosa Pallas, 1766: 392 , sp. 242, in part (incl. Boddaert 1768: 495 and Wilkens 1787: 229, pl. XXVI fig. 76).

Spongia bursaria Lamarck, 1814: 433 .

Spongia vaginalis Lamarck, 1814: 436 .

Tuba sororia Duchassaing & Michelotti, 1864: 46 , pl. VIII fig. 1.

Tuba bursaria ; Duchassaing & Michelotti, 1864: 48.

Tuba longissima Duchassaing & Michelotti, 1864: 51 , pl. IX fig. 3.

Tuba vaginalis ; Duchassaing & Michelotti 1864: 52.

Spinosella villosa ; Topsent 1932: 67; Wiedenmayer 1977: 254.

Spinosella sororia ; Topsent 1932: 73.

Spinosella longissima ; Topsent 1932: 83, pl. 3 fig. 9; Wiedenmayer 1977: 107, pl. 25 figs 2–4, text-fig. 125.

Callyspongia vaginalis ; De Laubenfels 1936: 56, pl. 14 fig. 1.

Callyspongia villosa ; Collette & Rützler 1977: 309.

Spinosella vaginalis ; Wiedenmayer 1977: 101 (with additional synonyms).

Callyspongia (Spinosella) vaginalis ; Van Soest 1980: 56 (with additional synonyms).

Callyspongia (Cladochalina) vaginalis ; Desqueyroux-Faúndez & Valentine 2002: 843.

Callyspongia (Cladochalina) villosa ; Muricy et al. 2011: 100.

Callyspongia (Cladochalina) aculeata ; Van Soest et al. 2020: 64, case 112.

Original description: ’ Spongia cavernosa extus aculeata’ (i.e. hollow sponge with thorny outer surface). This was adopted from Van Royen (1740: 522) and from Linnaeus (1753b: 1170).

Type material: Unknown. I propose as neotype RMNH Por. 12116 (field nr. MDB 359 ) from Martinique, Ilet Loup-Garou , 14.6667°N 60.8483°W, depth 7.4 m, collected by Naturalis colleagues Esther van der Ent and Nicole de Voogd on September 19, 2016. Martinique is situated in the Caribbean not too far from Jamaica as the assumed original type locality .

Molecular sequence: a COI sequence of the neotype was obtained by Naturalis colleague Niels van der Windt for this study.

Remarks: Both eldest sources ( Van Royen 1740 and Linnaeus 1753a) cited one source: Sloane (1707: 63, pl 23 fig. 4, here reproduced as Fig. 17A ) ‘ Spongia dura seu spuria, superficie apicibus acutis extantibus aspera intus cavernosa’ (i.e. a hard or spurious sponge, the surface with protruding sharp tips and cavernous inside). The image of this Jamaican sponge is a hollow flattened mass, convincingly similar to specimens currently known as Callyspongia villosa , a growth form of what was until recently known as Callyspongia (Cladochalina) vaginalis .

Pallas (1766: 392, sp. 242) erected Spongia villosa citing Linnaeus (1759) ‘sp.7 Spongia spinosa’ as a synonym, but he misquoted this source because Linnaeus’ (1759) sp. 7 is Spongia aculeata , not ‘ Spongia spinosa’. He also misquoted Sloane’s image as ‘pl. 25 fig. 4’ (it is pl. 23). Wilkens (1787) interpreted Pallas’ concept of Spongia villosa with an image on pl. XXVI fig. 76, here reproduced as Fig. 17B ). Pallas added Petiver’s (1712: pl. 19 fig. 9) drawing named as ‘ Spongia typhoides muricata & fere cava’ (i.e. a giant walled hollow sponge), here reproduced as Fig. 17D , and Rumphius (1750, vol. 6: 254, pl. 90 fig. 2, from Indonesia, here reproduced as Fig. 17E ), with extensive description in Latin and Dutch, labeled ‘Chirotheca marina’ (i.e. sea glove). Pallas assumed that the species occurred in both West Indian and East Indian waters, with Rumphius’ record as example of the similarity of aculeate tubiform Callyspongia specimens in these two regions. It is here assumed that Rumphius’ specimen is a member of Callyspongia (Cladochalina) aerizusa Desqueyroux-Faúndez, 1984 .

Linnaeus (1767) changed his description to ’ Spongia tubulosa ramosa tenax foraminulata subaculeata’ (i.e. tubular ramose firm sponge with small openings and low thorns), which was copied by Houttuyn (1772: 439), and maintained in Gmelin in Linnaeus (1791), with added reference Plukenet (1691, Pars Altera: pl. CXII fig. 4), here reproduced in Fig. 17C , as ‘ Spongia marina fistulosa maxima muricata’ (i.e. fistulose sea sponge with very long spines), donated by D. Doody. Also Pallas’ Spongia villosa was listed as a synonym in both Linnaean works.

Esper (1790: plates, 1794: text) revised the species, with several good images (here reproduced in Figs 17F 1 and 17F 2 , the former mislabeled as ‘S. muricata’), and a list of previous and additional references.

Between Linnaeus and Esper, this species was named Spongia aculeata , with half a dozen images, but remarkably Lamarck (1814) ignored these previous authors and named it Spongia vaginalis , referring to Sloane (the same reference as Linnaeus, Pallas and Esper) and Turgot (1758: 136, pl. XXIV fig. B, image reproduced in Fig. 17G ). Several subsequent French authors, e.g. Lamouroux (1816: 50), Duchassaing & Michelotti (1864: 52), likewise ignored Spongia aculeata and used Lamarck’s vaginalis . 20 th century Caribbean authors, e.g. De Laubenfels (1936: 56), Hechtel (1965: 32), Van Soest (1980: 56) used vaginalis Lamarck (as Callyspongia ), and Wiedenmayer (1977: 101) (as Spinosella ), until Van Soest et al. (2020: 65) connected Linnaeus’ name with Lamarck’s name.

No attempt has been made to conserve the name vaginalis in the 20 th century as a nomen protectum (ICZN art. 23.9) because the name vaginalis has not been consistently applied for specimens until recently known as Callyspongia (Cladochalina) vaginalis , with junior combinations of Callyspongia or Spinosella sororia , Callyspongia or Spinosella villosa and Callyspongia or Spinosella longissima employed partially as valid species. I do not believe the name vaginalis can be rescued under ICZN art. 23.9 and 75.5 (the name aculeata cannot be considered a nomen oblitum or a nomen dubium, because the use of various alternative names for this species after 1899 precludes this. It is not attempted here to fully review this very common and variable group of tubaeformflabelliform Callyspongia (Cladochalina) species, because the wide variation in shape and colour could very well consist of a multispecies complex. Molecular sequence assisted evaluation is necessary to arrive at satisfactory conclusions. Examples of such an approach is the study of colour variability in this species by López-Legentil et al. 2010 and further morphological-molecular comparisons by DeBiasse & Hellberg 2015. Assigning a neotype for Spongia aculeata ( Linnaeus, 1759) with a growth form approaching the image of Sloane (1707: pl. 23 fig. 4) is an important step towards such a revision. Above I explained that there is a clear priority (ICZN art. 23) for the valid combination Callyspongia (Cladochalina) aculeata , regrettably causing many records of C. (C.) vaginalis to be reassigned to the present original name.

Species diagnosis: (after Van Soest 1980: 56, pls IX figs 2–4, pl. X fig. 1, text figs 20a–d (as Callyspongia (Spinosella) vaginalis ). The form is a variable cluster of long erect tubes with wide pseudoscular vents or typically a merged single hollow flattened or flabellate fan, and intermediate shapes between these forms. The various forms are readily identified as a single species by the characteristic sharply conulose outer surface. The walls of the tubes or fans are thin, usually less than 1 cm, but lower down near the substratum thickness may be larger. The conules measure 3 mm and are set apart about 5 mm. Heights of tubes and fans are up to 25 cm or more, fans usually less than 20 cm. Width of tubes are about 5–7 cm, the fans 20 cm or more. Consistency is firmly compressible, not easily damaged. Outside colour in situ variable, usually pinkish grey or greenish grey, but also red brown, orange or red colours occur. The inner wall of the tubes and fans are pale reddish, smooth, with densely strewn oscules of about 2 mm in diameter. The ectosomal skeleton consists of the characteristic tangential double network formed by spongin enclosed primary fibres of 18–30 µm diameter and secondary fibres of 5–12 µm diameter, both fibres cored by single spicules and forming polygonal meshes of 200–350 µm diameter. The choanosomal skeleton is a reticulation of fasciculated primary fibres of 35–80 µm in diameter with a core of 0–14 spicules in cross section, interconnected by secondary (15–60 µm thick with core of 0–3 spicules) and tertiary fibres (5–20 µm thick with core of 0–1 spicule). The primary fibrofascicles are up to 350 µm in diameter and often diverge or anastomose producing a rather irregular reticulation, with meshes of 200–500 µm. The skeleton of the conules contains a strongly diverging reticulation of fasciculated primary fibres. Spicules are oxeas, 60–144 x 1–7 µm.

An in situ photo of a recent tubular specimen from the reefs of Curaçao is here added in Fig. 17H . In situ, on deck and preserved images of the neotype are provided in Figs 18A–C .

Distribution ( Fig. 19 ). Greater Caribbean and (North-)Eastern and Brazil, common on coral reefs.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Pages reproduced from A. Van Royen 1740 (pp. 521–522) treating Spongia species. Note that only 10 species were listed (Spongia fluviatilis was omitted compared to Linnaeus 1753b cf. Fig. 2) and the order of presentation is different.

FIGURE 2. Pages reproduced from C. Linnaeus’ 1753b ‘Species plantarum’ (pp. 1169–1171) treating Spongia species. Note that the genus was assigned to the Cryptogamia order Algae, but curiously S. lacustris and S. fluviatilis were assigned to order Fungi. Note also, that according to ICZN art. 3.2. no names published before January 1 1758 enter zoological nomenclature, making the Spongia name combinations of 1753 unavailable.

FIGURE 17. Images assigned to Callyspongia (Cladochalina) aculeata by various authors (originally as Spongia). A. Sloane’s ‘Spongia dura seu spuria, superficie apicibus acutis extantibus aspera intus cavernosa’ from Jamaica (1707: pl 23 fig. 4); B. Wilkens’ Spongia villosa, ‘Der Haarzottenschwamm’ (1787: pl. XXVI fig. 76); C. Plukenet’s ‘Spongia marina fistulosa maxima muricata’ (1691: pl. CXII fig. 4); D. Petiver’s ‘Spongia typhoides muricata’ from the American Sea (1712: pl. 19 fig. 9); E. Rumphius’ ‘Chirotheca marina’ from Indonesia (1750: pl. 90 fig. 2); F1. Esper’s erroneously labeled ‘Spongia muricata’ (1790: pl. VII fig. 1); F2. Esper’s correctly labeled Spongia aculeata (1790: pl. VIIA fig. 2 fig. 1); G. Turgot’s ‘Éponge composée de plusieurs tuyaux’ from East and West Indies (1758: 136, pl. XXIV fig. B); H. in situ photo of Callyspongia (Cladochalina) aculeata in the Curaçao reefs, photo M.J. de Kluijver.

FIGURE 18. Callyspongia (Cladochalina) aculeata (Linnaeus, 1759 as Spongia), neotype RMNH Por. 12116. A. in situ in the reefs of Martinique, Caribbean, photo Esther van der Ent; B. on deck photo of neotype fragment, photo N.J. de Voogd; C. preserved neotype fragment.

FIGURE 19. Distribution of Callyspongia (Cladochalina) aculeata (L.) (image downloaded from the World Porifera Database, cf. De Voogd et al. 2023).