Ircinia retidermata Pulitzer-Finali & Pronzato, 1981

Ircinia retidermata Pulitzer-Finali & Pronzato, 1981 View in CoL

( Figure 19 View FIGURE 19 )

Ircinia retidermata Pulitzer-Finali and Pronzato , (1981 [1980]): 150, 151, fig. 11.

Material examined: ESFM-POR/2017-287 , S1, 10 –20 m, on stone, 2 specimens , ESFM-POR/2017-344 , S20, 20 –35 m, on coralligenous habitat, 1 specimen ; ESFM-POR/2017-787 , S32, 20 –35 m, on coralligenous habitat, 1 specimen .

Description: Specimens are oval-shaped and massive (5 cm in diameter). It has an elastic and firm consistency. Colors are brown when alive ( Figure 19a View FIGURE 19 ). Conules were blunt-tipped, 1–2 mm high, and 1–3 mm apart, scattered on the surface of the sponge. The conules are characteristically interconnected by a honeycomb-like reticulation with meshes (ca. 80 µm in diameter). Oscules are 2–2.5 mm wide. Skeleton reticulate with meshes 200 to 600 µm in diameter. Fibrils do not have stratification. Primary fibrils are (50–80 μm in diameter) moderately covered with inclusions (sand, debris, foreign matter). Secondary fibrils (20–80 μm in diameter) are free of inclusions. Thin filaments are 5–8 μm in diameter ( Figure 19b View FIGURE 19 ).

Habitat and distribution: It was previously reported on muddy bottoms at 70–80 m ( Pulitzer-Finali et al. (1981 [1980]), Corallium rubrum ( Melone 1965) and rocky bottoms at 5–33 m ( Boury-Esnault & Lopes 1985). It is a species endemic to the Mediterranean Sea, occurring in the Ligurian (Pulitzer-Finali & 1981 [1980]), Levantine ( Ilan et al. 1994) and Aegean ( Voultsiadou et al. 2016) Seas. It is a new record for the fauna of the Turkish Seas.