Haliclona (Soestella) caerulea Hechtel, 1965

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 : 103

Haliclona (Soestella) caerulea Hechtel, 1965

Figure 3 , Table 3

Examined material. MUHNES-91-1— Las Parguetas (13°29’45.2”N, 89°46’22.1”W) depth 12 m, A. Trejo (13. VI.2018) ; MUHNES-91-35— Punta de Monte (13°30’2.8”N, 89°48’45.9”W) depth 16 m, A. Trejo (17.VI.2018) ; MUHNES-91-49— La Naviera (13°30’6.8”N, 89°47’51.4”W) depth 15 m, A. Trejo (17.VI.2018) .

Description. Sponge that lives in association with the calcareous algae Jania adherens J.V.Lamouroux, 1816 , it is massive and has mounds that resemble small volcanoes. The oscula are circular and mostly oval, 2–6 mm in diameter ( Figure 3A ). The surface is rough, not very compressible and brittle. The ectosome is regular, tangential, made up of single oxeas that are joined at each end by spongin ( Figure 3D ). The choanosome is more difficult to differentiate due to the ramifications of the calcareous algae, but a reticulate network of spicule lines is distinguished ( Figure 3E ). It has robust oxeas, with a slight curve in the middle and sharp ends (168.5 x 6.7 µm), the microsclere are C-shaped sigmas (20.4 µm) ( Figure 3B–C ).

Ecological notes. The species was found over rocks and calcareous algae from 12 to 16 m deep.

Distribution and previous records. The species was described by Hechtel in 1965 from Jamaica and has been reported from different Caribbean locations as Curaçao ( Van Soest 1980), Gulf of Mexico ( Rützler et al. 2009; Ugalde et al. 2021), Belize ( Rützler et al. 2000) and Bocas del Toro, Panamá (Díaz 2005). Its distribution in the Pacific Ocean has been reported from Hawaii (Núñez et al. 2017), the Mexican Pacific coast ( Cruz-Barraza & Carballo 2008) and the Pacific of Panama ( Wulff 1996). Here we extend the species distribution and present the first record from Los Cóbanos, El Salvador ( Table 12 ).

Remarks. The specimens coincide with the original description in size and form of the spicules (Hetchel 1965). They also agree with the ones described by Cruz-Barraza & Carballo (2008) which they found between the intertidal to 6 m depth, unlike our specimens that were found from 12 to 15 m depth. There are two other Hacliclona (Soestella) species described from the eastern Pacific: H. (S.) spuma and H. (S.) roslynae Sim-Smith, Hickman & Kelly, 2021 , but these species have larger oxeas (up to 192 x 13 µm and 117x7 µm respectively) and they lack of microsclere ( Sim-Smith et al. 2021).

Figures

FIGURE 3. Haliclona (Soestella) caerulea. A. Specimen collected at 16 m depth. B. Oxeas. C. Sigma. D. Ectosome. E. Choanosome. Scale bars: A, 1 cm; B, 50 µm; C, 12 µm; D–E, 200 µm.