Bubaris durissima, BURTON, 1928

Morrow, Christine, Cárdenas, Paco, Boury-Esnault, Nicole, Picton, Bernard, Mccormack, Grace, Soest, Rob Van, Collins, Allen, Redmond, Niamh, Maggs, Christine, Sigwart, Julia & Allcock, Louise A., 2019, Integrating morphological and molecular taxonomy with the revised concept of Stelligeridae (Porifera: Demospongiae), Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 187, pp. 31-81 : 68

publication ID	B075CE1-0B62-4EE9-8EF6-7E51C2745CA8
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:B075CE1-0B62-4EE9-8EF6-7E51C2745CA8
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14829060
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/FA001443-6841-FFDC-FC75-FF17FA52FB87
treatment provided by	Plazi
scientific name	Bubaris durissima
status

Treatment

BUBARIS DURISSIMA BURTON, 1928 View in CoL

( FIG. 18)

Higginsia durissima (Burton, 1928) WPD ( Van Soest et al., 2018)

Material examined: Holotype BMNH R.N. XXXI.i, stn 532, Andaman Sea, Merqui Archipelago, 113 m.

Description: Megascleres: Thick, short rhabdostyles and oxea, 450 µm × 34 µm; axial canal often visible in rhabdostyles ( Fig. 18).

Remarks: Although this species was transferred to Higginsia ( Van Soest et al., 2018: in WPD), we do not know of good morphological evidence to support its placement here. This species has shared affinities with Axinellidae , Hymerhabdiidae and Dictyonellidae . On spicule and skeletal morphology, these three families are apparently indistinguishable. There is some evidence that there are chemical characters that characterize Hymerhabdiidae , such as the presence of isocyanids ( Braekman et al., 1992), and using DNA sequences they are easily distinguishable. Given that it is not possible to say with confidence whether Bubaris durissima should be assigned to Axinellidae , Dictyonellidae or Hymerhabdiidae , and in the absence of molecular data, we consider returning it to its original genus ( Bubaris ) the most conservative option.