Haliclona ( Soestella )

Rützler, Klaus, Piantoni, Carla, Van, Rob W. M. & Díaz, Cristina, 2014, Diversity of sponges (Porifera) from cryptic habitats on the Belize barrier reef near Carrie Bow Cay, Zootaxa 3805 (1), pp. 1-129 : 83

Haliclona ( Soestella) sp.

Material. USNM 1229111 Carrie Bow Cay South reef, lower surface of rock slab, 1 m; K. Ruetzler col. 13 Mar 2009.

External morphology. A cushion of about 15 cm 2 extension, 5 mm thick. Smooth surface interrupted by numerous circular oscula, 1–2.5 mm in diameter. Brittle consistency, cavernous inside. Color in life purplish to brown, white in alcohol.

Skeleton structure. In the ectosome, a loose subisotropical reticulation of spicules; similar but denser in the choanosome, with multispicular, rounded meshes.

Spicules. Curved, fusiform oxeas and similar styles; styles making up 15% of the spicule population: 160–200 x 8–10 ( 180 x 8) Μm.

Ecology. Cryptic in the shallow back reef, 1 m.

Distribution. So far only known from Belize.

Comments. Color and spicule dimensions are similar to those in Haliclona ( Halichoclona) vansoesti but the abundance of styloid modifications among the oxeote spicules clearly separates the two species. The small amount of material of a single specimen available to us makes it unadvisable to establish a new species.