Clathrina chrysea Borojevic & Klautau, 2000

Clathrina chrysea Borojevic & Klautau, 2000 View in CoL

Figures 3a–d View FIGURE 3

Clathrina spec. Lévi, Laboute, Bargibant &Menou,1998: 74.

Clathrina chrysea Borojevic & Klautau, 2000: 189 View in CoL View Cited Treatment , fig. 1.

Material examined. ZMA Por. 16165, Indonesia, SW Sulawesi, Spermonde Archipelago, Samalona , 4.8747°S 119.3419°E, depth 6 m GoogleMaps , SCUBA, coll. N.J. de Voogd, 20 April 1997 .

Description. Cushion-shaped ( Fig. 3a View FIGURE 3 ), slightly lobate, cormus of loosely anastomosed tubes. Water-collecting tubes are lacking. Overall size 4.5 x 3 cm, height 0.5 cm, tubes 2–3 mm in diameter. Consistency soft, limp. Color in life not noted (presumably yellow), in alcohol pale transparent white.

Skeleton. ( Fig. 3b–c View FIGURE 3 ) Wall of tubes thin, at most two or three layers of triactines ( Fig. 3c View FIGURE 3 ).

Spicules. Triactines only.

Triactines ( Fig. 3d View FIGURE 3 ), regular equiangular, with conical actines, 75– 117.2 –144 x 7.5– 9.1 –11; a minority of the spicules have one actine crooked, either upwards or downwards, and these are usually smaller than the regular spicules (average actine length 82 µm).

Ecology. In reefs and reef lagoons, 6–28 m.

Distribution. Indonesia, New Caledonia.

Remarks. The identification of this material with Clathrina chrysea is based on shape of the specimen and size and shape of the triactines. A similar species appears to be Clathrina heronensis Wörheide & Hooper, 1999 from the Great Barrier Reef, Australia, but its habitus is dissimilar in being flat, tubes are thinner (1 mm), and in alcohol the color turns brown. Below, we assign a distinctly different specimen of our collection to C. heronensis .