Description

Description of the species The specimen has an erect, tongue form (long, flattened, lamelar) with 18 cm length by 4 cm width and 2 cm thickness expanding toward the apex (Fig. 17 B, 19 A). The small oscula (1 mm) are spread over the entire surface, which is very finely conulose. The colour is a mixture of light yellowish-brown, light pinkish-brown and light-yellow in vivo, which turns into dark brownish-purple after preservation in ethanol. Consistency is flexible. Skeleton: Choanosome with a delicate and irregular network of spongin fibers (Fig. 19 B). Bark with amber or reddish colour, thickness of 37 – 192 Μm (average 117 Μm) and thick pith that can be black or amber with thickness varying between 10 and 35 Μm (average 31 Μm; Fig. 19 C).

Common Names

Taxonomic Hierarchy

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Porifera

Class: Demospongiae

Order: Verongiida

Family: Aplysinidae

Genus: Aplysina

Species: Aplysina lingua Pinheiro, Hajdu & Custódio, 2007