Description

Description of the species: Specimens vary from globose to tubular, with a maximum of 25 cm in height and 4 cm in width (holotype), covered by ridges, which render the surface very irregular (Figs. 23 A – B, 24 A). These ridges cover the entire surface of the specimens, are always short, and surround shallow valleys. Some small, slender digitiform projections are also observed. These projections can be anastomosed or not with other such ridges or the sponge main body. The sponges possess large apical pseudoscula, 1.5 cm in diameter, sometimes with an iristype diaphragm. Small oscula are also observed on the outer sides of the sponge. In some samples, small globes with apical oscula are present in the digitiform projections. The surface is finely conulose. The colour is bright yellow and beige in vivo, turning purple or brown after preservation in alcohol, never black. Consistency was firmly compressible. Skeleton: Choanosome with a delicate, irregular network of spongin fibers (Fig. 24 B) with amber coloured bark and width of 22 – 167 Μm (average 85 Μm), and a thick, black or amber pith with 8 – 47 Μm width (average 20 Μm; Figs. 24 C). The presence of spongin fibers wrapped and excavated by filamentous structures, possibly fungi, was observed in some specimens (MNRJ 4420, 4665) as in Aplysina muricyana sp. n ..

Common Names

Taxonomic Hierarchy

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Porifera

Class: Demospongiae

Order: Verongiida

Family: Aplysinidae

Genus: Aplysina

Species: Aplysina pseudolacunosa Pinheiro, Hajdu & Custódio, 2007