Leucetta microraphis Haeckel, 1872

Leucetta microraphis Haeckel, 1872 View in CoL

Figures 39a–d View FIGURE 39 , 40a–d View FIGURE 40

Leucetta primigenia var. microraphis Haeckel, 1872: 119 View in CoL , pl. 21 Figs 10–17 View FIGURE 10 View FIGURE 11 View FIGURE 12 View FIGURE 13 View FIGURE 14 View FIGURE 15 View FIGURE 16 View FIGURE 17 . Leucetta primigenia View in CoL ; Lendenfeld, 1885: 1117; De Laubenfels, 1954: 253, fig. 179; Borojevic, 1967b: 3, fig. 2; Borojevic &

Klautau, 2000: 193, fig. 5; Colin & Arneson, 1995: 60, photo 229; Gosliner et al., 1996: 16, photo 4; Erhardt & Baensch,

1998: 22.? Leucetta solida ; Breitfuss, 1896: 434; 1898: 169 (not: Schmidt, 1862).

Material examined. ZMA Por. 00152, Indonesia, Nusa Tenggara, E coast of Sumbawa, Sapeh Bay , 8.5839°S 119.0324°E, depth 0–38 m, dredge and reef exploration, Siboga Expedition stat. 311, 12 February 1900 GoogleMaps ; ZMA Por. 08108, Indonesia, Nusa Tenggara, N of Sumbawa, Bay of Sanggar, 8.3417°S 118.262°E, depth 1–4 m, coastal reef with sea grass, snorkeling, coll GoogleMaps . R. W.M. van Soest, Indonesian-Dutch Snellius II Expedition stat. 120/II/06, 21 September 1984 ; ZMA Por. 08510, Indonesia, Nusa Tenggara, N of Sumbawa, Bay of Sanggar, 8.32°S, 118.24°E, depth 5–7 m GoogleMaps , SCUBA, coll. R. W.M. van Soest, Indonesian-Dutch Snellius II Expedition 1984 stat. 114 / III/13 , 21 September 1984 ; ZMA Por. 08649, Indonesia, SE Sulawesi, SW Salayar, NW coast of Pulau Guang , 6.35°S, 120.45°E, depth 4–12 m GoogleMaps , SCUBA, coll. R. W.M. van Soest, Indonesian-Dutch Snellius II Expedition 1984 stat. 152 / III/32 , 28 September 1984 ; ZMA Por. 09051, Indonesia, Nusa Tenggara, NE coast of Sumba , 9.95°S 120.8°E, depth 50 m, dredge, coll GoogleMaps . R. W.M. van Soest, Indonesian-Dutch Snellius II Expedition 1984 stat. 68 / V/17 , 16 September 1984 ; ZMA Por. 14536, Indonesia, North Sulawesi, Bunaken, SW Nain Island , 1.7681°N 124.7671°E, depth 18 m GoogleMaps , SCUBA, coll. B.W. Hoeksema, #SYMBIOSPONGE 98/NS/MAY08/BH090, 8 May 1998 ; ZMA Por. 15917, Indonesia, Sumatera, W, Padang , Pandan Island, W, 0.3833°S 100.2167°E, depth 5 m GoogleMaps , SCUBA, coll. M. Pampus, #PA B13, 7 November 1995 ; ZMA Por. 15936, Indonesia, Sumatera, Padang, Pisang Island , 0.95°S 100.1667°E, depth 5 m GoogleMaps , SCUBA, coll. M. Pampus, # PP1, 1 December 1995 ; ZMA Por. 16011, Indonesia, SW Sulawesi, Spermonde Archipelago , Samalona W, 5.125°S 119.342°E, depth 5–10 m GoogleMaps , SCUBA, coll. B.W. Hoeksema, #2, 8 May 1997 ; ZMA Por. 16682, Indonesia, SW Sulawesi, Spermonde Archipelago, Lae-lae , 5.1336°S 119.3381°E, depth 5–10 m GoogleMaps , SCUBA, coll. N.J. de Voogd, #LL/NV/240597/D, 24 May 1997 ; ZMA Por. 17740, Indonesia, Kalimantan, Berau Islands, SE-side Kakaban Island , 2.1261°N 118.5517°E, depth 0–30 m GoogleMaps , SCUBA, coll. R.G. Moolenbeek, #BER03/36; ZMA Por. 20126, Indonesia, North Sulawesi, S of Siladen Island, 1.63°N 124.8°E, depth 10 m, coll. S. Tsukamoto, #06M039, 6 June 2006 GoogleMaps ; RMNH Por. 1777, Indonesia, NE Kalimantan, Berau Islands, NE-side Maratua Island , 2.2802°N 118.6029°E, depth 5 m GoogleMaps , SCUBA, coll. K. van Egmond, #BER17/101003/093, East Kalimantan Expedition 2003, 10 October 2003 ; RMNH Por. 1809, Indonesia, Nusa Tenggara, Bali, Tulamben area, bay S of ‘ Emerald’ Hotel , 8.2847°S 115.6031°E, depth 30 m GoogleMaps , SCUBA, coll. N.J. de Voogd, #BAL23/NV/140401/205, Bali Lombok Strait Expedition 2001, 14 April 2001 ; RMNH Por. 1883, Indonesia, Sulawesi, Spermonde Archipelago, Bone Lola , 5.0°S 119.35°E, depth 6 m GoogleMaps , SCUBA, coll. N.J. de Voogd, 29 October 2002 ; RMNH Por. 2129, Indonesia, Java Sea, off Jakarta, Kepulauan Seribu , Payung Besar Island, E side, 5.8219°S 106.5631°E, depth 10–15 m GoogleMaps , SCUBA, coll. N.J. de Voogd, #SER43/260905/167, Kepulauan Seribu Expedition 2005, 26 September 2005 ; RMNH Por. 6610, Indonesia, North Sulawesi, Lembeh Strait, SW Sarena Kecil , 1.4555°N 125.2236°E, depth 25 m GoogleMaps , SCUBA, coll. K. van Egmond, #LEM15/070212, 7 February 2012 .

Descriptio n. ( Figs 39a–c View FIGURE 39 ) Dark pink, brownish pink or pinkish-white sponges with variable shape, lobate, flabellate or massive, with raised or terminal oscules of 0.5–2 cm diameter, atrial lumen up to 2 cm in diameter. Size up to 11 x 10 x 6 cm.

Histology. Leuconoid aquiferous system.

Skeleton. Essentially ‘alveolar’, small rounded meshes encircling the choanocyte chambers. Just below the surface there are giant triactines ( Fig. 39d View FIGURE 39 ).

Spicules. ( Figs 40a–d View FIGURE 40 ) Giant triactines, small triactines, tripods, small tetractines.

Giant triactines ( Fig. 40a View FIGURE 40 ), equiangular equiactinal, with conical actines, 1175– 1536.3 – 1980 x 132– 169.3 –216 µm.

Intermediate ( Fig. 40b View FIGURE 40 ) and small ( Fig. 40c View FIGURE 40 ) triactines, equiangular equiactinal, 99– 175.7 –270 x 8– 15.8 –33 µm; rare tripods with undulating paired actines 150–200 µm

Small tetractines ( Fig. 40d View FIGURE 40 ), rare, actines of basal radiate system 135–150 x 9–12 µm, apical actines 50–70 µm.

Ecology. Shallow-water reefs down to 30 m.

Distribution. Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, New Caledonia, tropical Australia.

Remarks. This species is in urgent need of revision. Haeckel’s treatment of the name L. microraphis makes the species unrecognizable and its type locality unknown. No original specimens have ever been redescribed. The use of the name is entirely based on ‘tradition’. Pinkish brown specimens identified by us under this name can be confused with smaller brownish specimens of Pericharax orientalis sp.nov., but the sharp ridges and yellow interior color of that species do not occur in L. microraphis .

Breitfuss’ (1896, 1898) record of the Mediterranean Leucetta solida ( Schmidt, 1862 as Grantia ) from Ternate quite possibly concerns the present species as large and small triactines were mentioned. No detailed spicule size data were provided by Breitfuss.

Genus Pericharax Poléjaeff, 1883

Remark. The commonly reported tropical shallow-water Pericharax heteroraphis of authors is here given a new name for reasons presented below.