Tedania (Tedania) tropicalis Aguilar-Camacho, Carballo & Cruz-Barraza, 2018

Trejo, Alejandra, Carballo, José Luis & Segovia, Johanna, 2025, New records and checklist of sponges from El Salvador (Eastern Tropical Pacific), Zootaxa 5613 (1), pp. 99-125 : 111-113

Tedania (Tedania) tropicalis Aguilar-Camacho, Carballo & Cruz-Barraza, 2018

Figure 8 , Table 8

Examined material. MUHNES-91-18— Punta de Monte (13°30’54.5”N, 89°47’48.9”W), depth 7 m, A. Trejo (20. VII.2018) .

Description. Massive sponge 7 cm long and 2–5 cm thick. The surface is irregular and smooth, with a flexible and elastic consistency. Color in life is orange and becomes pale when preserved in alcohol ( Figure 8A ). The ectosome consists of tylotes with microspined heads (170–200 µm x 2.5–5 µm). Styles (220–240 µm) are found in the choanosome, forming multispicular lines and scattered onychaetes (150–180 µm) ( Figure 8B–E ).

Ecological notes. The species was found on rocky substate surrounded by fine sediment.

Distribution and previous records. The species was described by Aguilar-Camacho et al. in 2018 from the Mexican Pacific Coast and Islas Secas, Panama. In El Salvador, the species was reported from Punta Amapala ( Trejo & Segovia 2024), and now its distribution is extended to Los Cóbanos ( Table 12 ).

Remarks. The specimen agrees with the original description in spicule composition, with onychaetes in one category and its characteristic reddish-orange color, unlike Tedania fulvum Aguilar-Camacho, Carballo & Cruz-Barraza, 2018 , which is another species distributed in the Eastern Tropical Pacific, but has onychaetes in two categories, and it has been reported only from the Bay of Mazatlan ( Aguilar-Camacho et al. 2018).

Figures

FIGURE 8. Tedania (Tedania) tropicalis. A. Collected specimen at 7 m depth. B. Styles. C. Tylotes. D. Detail of the microspined head of a tylote. E. Onychaetes. Scale bars: A, 1 cm; B, 50 µm; C, 30 µm; D, 2 µm; E, 25 µm.

Tables

TABLE 8. Comparative data on spicule measurement and known distribution of Tedania (Tedania) tropicalis. Values are presented as minimum (mean) maximum in μm.

Examined material	Styles	Tylotes	Onychaetes	Locality and depth
	Length x width	Length x width	Length x width
MUHNES-91-18	220 (228.7) 240 x	170 (189.5) 200 x 2	150 (164.7) 180 x 2.5	La Peñona. 7 m
	5 (6.1) 7.5	(2.3) 2.5
T. tropicalis Aguilar-	150–215 x 2.5–7.5	150–210 x 2.5–5	90–180 x	Mexican Pacific
Camacho et al. 2018			0.5–1.75	Coast. 1–25 m
T. tropicalis	222 (235.4) 240 x 4.9	185 (189.5) 205 x 2	147 (166.4) 178 x 2.5	Maculís, El Salvador.
Trejo & Segovia 2024	(5.1) 7.3	(2.2) 2.5		3–8 m