Desmanthus incrustans ( Topsent, 1889 )

Desmanthus incrustans ( Topsent, 1889) View in CoL

( Figure 10 View FIGURE 10 )

Aciculites incrustans Topsent, 1889: 32–33 , fig 1,

Desmanthus incrustans, Topsent, 1894: 311–315 View in CoL .

Material examined: ESFM-POR / 2017-77 , T5, 200–300 m, on amphora, 5 specimens .

Description: Encrusting species, light yellow when alive ( Figure 10 a, b View FIGURE 10 ). Specimens are firm and rigid. It has a hispid surface due to the lithisthid skeleton consisting of basal desmas and steeply protruding spicules (styles). There is no obvious oscular opening. It consists of desmas resembling a staghorn as a skeletal arrangement (100– 180 μm × 5–8 μm) ( Figure 10 b, c View FIGURE 10 ). Styles curved at the base: (300–400 × 4–8 µm).

Habitat and distribution: This species was reported from reef habitats and caves at 12–30 m ( List-Armitage & Hooper 2002). It appears to have an Atlantic-Mediterranean distribution ( de Voogd et al. 2024). Although it was also encountered in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, these records appear to be dubious according to Van Soest & Hajdu (2000). According to de Voogd et al. (2024), Desmanthus incrustans could be a complex of species and the Mediterranean individuals show different morphological features when compared to the Carribean and West tropical Atlantic individuals. This is a new record for the eastern Mediterranean Sea.