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Amorphinopsis (Halichondrida: Demospongiae) from the Atlantic Ocean, with

the description of a new species

Article  in  Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the UK · October 2004

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J. Mar. Biol. Ass. U.K. (2004), 84, 4412/1^6
Printed in the United Kingdom

Amorphinopsis (Halichondrida: Demospongiae) from the

Atlantic Ocean, with the description of a new species
Mariana de S. Carvalho*, Eduardo Hajdu*O}, Beatriz MothesP and Rob Van Soest$
*Museu Nacional, Departamento de Invertebrados, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Quinta da Boa Vista, s/n, 20940-040,
Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. OCentro de Biologia Marinha, Universidade de Sa‹o Paulo, Sa‹o Sebastia‹o, SP, Brazil.
P
Museu de Cie“ncias Naturais, Fundac
a‹o Zoobota“nica do Rio Grande do Sul, Cx. Postal 1188, 90001-970, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
$
Institute for Systematics and Population Biology (Zoo«logisch Museum), University of Amsterdam.
}
Corresponding author, e-mail: hajdu@acd.ufrj.br.

A species of the genus Amorphinopsis is described for the ¢rst time for the Atlantic Ocean. The new species
was described based on the study of 25 specimens, collected in the area of the Sa‹o Sebastia‹o Channel and
its environs (northern sector of Sa‹o Paulo State coastline) and in the Cabo Frio region (Rio de Janeiro
State). The form is massive cushion-shaped, lobate, occasionally encrusting. The megascleres are styles
[160^260 (N¼20)/5^10 (N¼10) mm; length/thickness] and oxeas [150^900 (N¼100)/5^18 (N¼20) mm].
Amorphinopsis atlantica sp. nov. di¡ers from the other species of Amorphinopsis by its colour, dark-greyish-
green with or without yellow tinges on the exposed surface, and the smaller size of its oxeas. Amorphinopsis
excavans is the closest species to the Brazilian material, but can still be set apart by a series of smaller traits,
such as oxeas and styles never overlapping (the smaller oxea is always larger than the larger style).

INTRODUCTION possible spicule lengths were obtained by using the classic

The sponge genus Amorphinopsis Carter, 1887 includes
halichondrids with an ectosomal tangential reticulation of
intercrossing larger oxeas and styles, and a confused
choanosomal skeleton. The genus includes ¢rm, hard, but
fragile sponges (Erpenbeck & Van Soest, 2002). There are
nine species described so far, all from the Indo-Paci¢c area
(¢ve from Australia).
Amorphinopsis is a genus that poses special challenges to
the porifera taxonomist due to the complex taxonomic
history of ping-pong assignments of its species to
Ciocalypta, Halichondria, Hymeniacidon, Prostylissa, and other
genera. Some species are hard to tell apart due to the lack
of good descriptions. Amorphinopsis was ¢rst recorded from
Brazil by Muricy et al. (1993; Arraial do Cabo, Rio de
Janeiro State; as A. sp.), who observed antifungal and
antibacterial activities in the species. We describe this
material here as Amorphinopsis atlantica sp. nov. after a
thorough revision of literature records and type material
for some species.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Most specimens were collected in the area of the Sa‹o
Sebastia‹o Channel and its environs (northern sector of
Sa‹o Paulo State coastline), during a faunistic survey
conducted in the municipalities of Sa‹o Sebastia‹o and
Ilhabela from 1995 to 1998. Other specimens were
collected in the Cabo Frio region, Rio de Janeiro State, in
1983, 1991, and 2001 (Figure 1). Specimens were collected
by SCUBA diving in shallow waters (up to 16 m). The
material studied here is deposited in the collections of the
Museu Nacional (MNRJ and UFRJPOR) of Universidade
Federal do Rio de Janeiro. Size-classes for the range of
Sturges’ algorithm (1+3.3logD, where ‘D’ is the range
between largest and smallest lengths). Light-microscopy
preparations of dissociated spicules and thick sections
followed standard procedures as outlined by Ru«tzler
(1978).
SYSTEMATICS
Order HALICHONDRIDA Gray, 1867
Family HALICHONDRIIDAE Gray, 1867
Genus Amorphinopsis Carter, 1887
Diagnosis: see Erpenbeck & van Soest (2002).
Amorphinopsis atlantica sp. nov.
Figs. 2A ^ D, 3; Table I
Amorphinopsis sp.; Muricy et al., 1993: 428; Hajdu et al.,
1999: 23; Rangel et al., 2001: 36.
Holotype  Sa‹o Sebastia‹o, Brazil: MNRJ 353 (Ponta do
Jaroba¤, 23849.676’S 45825.278’W), 0.5^2.5 m depth, coll.
E. Hajdu & G. Muricy, 26.i.1996.
ParatypesSa‹o Sebastia‹o, Brazil: MNRJ 142, 278, 359,
363, 375, 443, 493, 520, 523 707, 1688. Ilhabela, Brazil:
MNRJ 194, 200, 246, 249, 330, 571. Arraial do Cabo,
Brazil: MNRJ 685, 4001, 4004; UFRJPOR 4369, 4370,
4372, 4371.
Comparative material
Amorphinopsis excavans  BMNH 1981.10.14.3 (holotype),
Mergui Archipelago, fr. Anderson, 28.xii.82, don. by
Linn. Soc. via Wyn. Wheeler, 1981, Indian Ocean;
Halichondria armata Lindgren, 1897BMNH 1929.xi.26.31
(type), Malayischen Archipelago, Chinese Seas.

Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom (2004)

4412.2 M. de S. Carvalho et al. A new Amorphinopsis from the Atlantic Ocean

Figure. 1. Location of Cabo Frio Region (A) and Sa‹o Sebastia‹o Channel (B), with the collecting localities indicated. Scale
bar¼1 km.

Diagnosis
Amorphinopsis, massive, cushion-shaped, lobate, occa-
sionally encrusting. Live colour is white (rarely), or yellow
to dark green. Megascleres are styles in a small size category
and oxeas, which can be as small as the smallest styles.
Description
Colour alive dark-greyish-green with or without yellow
tinges on the exposed surface, occasionally white. Areas
protected from light exposure generally bright yellow, or
the sponge may be completely yellow. Shape encrusting to

Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom (2004)

 A new Amorphinopsis from the Atlantic Ocean
Figure 2. Amorphinopsis atlantica sp. nov., (Holotype, MNRJ
353). (A) Specimen ¢xed and preserved in ethanol (Scale
bar¼1 cm); (B) ectosomal skeleton; (C) choanosomal skeleton
(Scale bars ¼ 50 mm); (D) spicules (styles and oxea; Scale
bar¼100 mm).
massive cushion-shaped, lobate. The holotype (MNRJ
353), largest specimen, is 10
4
4 cm (length
width

height). Surface smooth, detachable, with subectosomal
canals visible by the naked eye. Oscules, 2^7 mm across,
scattered, £ush on the surface. The sponge is only slightly
compressible, and becomes friable when dried.
Skeleton
Ectosomal skeleton (Figure 2B) with dispersed spicules,
without any sign of tracts or a reticulation. Choanosomal
skeleton (Figure 2C) confused but with irregular, vague,
pauci- to multispicular tracts (50^100 mm wide) which
tend to display a plumose arrangement when approaching
the surface.
Spicules (Figures 2D; 3; Table 1). Oxeas  a single size
category, straight or slightly curved: length 150^452^
900 mm (N¼100), width 4.8^9.1^17.9 mm (N¼20).
Styles  smooth, straight or slightly curved: length 160^
209^260 mm (N¼ 20), width 4.8^6.5^9.7 mm (N¼10).
Ecology
The specimens were collected at 0.5^16 m depth. Found
in rocky coasts, on vertical surfaces or in overhangs; rarely
exposed to direct sunlight. Associations with ophiuroids
are common, either on the sponge surface or in the
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom (2004)
M. de S. Carvalho et al. 4412.3
canals. Other symbionts frequently found are bivalves,
barnacles and algae (e.g. Jania sp.).
Etymology
The species is named Amorphinopsis atlantica sp. nov. as it
is the ¢rst species of this genus described for the Atlantic
Ocean.
Distribution
Sa‹o Sebastia‹o and Ilhabela, Sa‹o Paulo state; and
Arraial do Cabo, Cabo Frio region, Rio de Janeiro state.
DISCUSSION
Based on a literature review, we propose the following
list of valid previously described species of Amorphinopsis:
A. armata (Lindgren, 1897; Indo-south China Sea),
A. excavans (Carter, 1887; Indo-west Paci¢c), A. maza
(de Laubenfels, 1954; Micronesia), A. megarrhaphea
(Lendenfeld, 1888; eastern Australia), A. sacciformis
(Thiele, 1900; central west Paci¢c, Papua New Guinea,
northern Australia) and A. siamensis (Topsent, 1925; Gulf
of Thailand). Amorphinopsis ¢ligrana (Schmidt, 1862;
Adriatic Sea) needs to be re-examined prior to any conclu-
sive statement on its status.
Amorphinopsis atlantica sp. nov. di¡ers from A. armata
(type slide studied, BMNH 1929.XI.26.31) by its
considerably smaller oxeas. These did not reach 1000 m
in any brazilian specimen, with means mostly under
500 m. Amorphinopsis armata’s type specimen, on the other
hand, has means around 900 m and extremes over
1200 m. Hooper et al (1997) synonymized Halichondria
armata with Amorphinopsis excavans, but we disagree with
this proposition in view of the former much larger
spicules.
Amorphinopsis excavans needs a revision, as many of its
alleged junior synonyms were described with a set of
spicules considerably distinct in dimensions from those
observed in the species’ type specimen (type slide studied,
BMNH 1981.X.14.3). Amorphinopsis digitifera Annandale,
1915 (as A. excavans digitifera) and A. kempi Kumar, 1925
were reported to have styles over 600 m in length which
markedly contrasts to styles smaller than 150 m presently
observed in the type slide of A. excavans. Supposedly
malformed oxeas, resembling perfect styles, are a
common occurrence here and there in many sponge
genera of di¡erent families and orders. It is thus necessary
to check whether A. digitifera and A. kempi do indeed possess
the large styles reported originally, or whether these could
be interpreted as malformed oxeas. Only very seldom
A. atlantica sp. nov. has styles over 300 m in length
(MNRJ 685, 4001, UFRJPOR 4371), and even in these
specimens, such large styles are rare, well distinguished
from the main mass of smaller styles. In our interpretation
these are either malformed oxeas, or aberrantly large
styles, not a second category of styles.
Halichondria panicea var. hemispherica Dendy, 1905 was
synonymized with A. excavans by Burton (1959), a syno-
nymy corroborated by Hooper et al. (1997), but neither
author provided a description of its spicule complement,
so we prefer to consider this proposition as dubious. The
¢ve specimens reported by Dendy (1905) need to be
4412.4 M. de S. Carvalho et al. A new Amorphinopsis from the Atlantic Ocean

Table 1. Amorphinopsis atlantica sp. nov. Comparative micrometric data for the specimens. Measures are given as smallest
length
mean length
largest length/smallest width
mean width
largest width, in micrometres. Oxeas, N¼100 for length
measures and N¼20 for width measures per specimen; Styles N¼20 for length measures and N¼10 for width measures per specimen.

Specimens Style Oxeas

MNRJ 353, holotype 143^178.6^221/5^6.6^8 (8^8.3^10) 155^392.3^825/8^15.5^23

MNRJ 194, paratype 152^193.6^238/7^7.7^9 (5^6.8^8) 200^462.6^912/13^20.9^30
MNRJ 200, paratype 149^186.7^238/ 6^7.6^9 (5^9.0^15) 152^448.7^779/10^16.3^25
MNRJ 246, paratype (67) 152^193.1^285/6^8.5^13 143^314.0^608/5^13.3^20
MNRJ 278, paratype 133^185.4^238/5^7.4^9 171^409.2^779/10^15.2^25
MNRJ 330, paratype 114^177.0^228/4^5.6^7 (5^6.9^10) 143^340.8^817/5^12.0^25
MNRJ 359, paratype 143^186.8^247/5^6.8^10 190^389.7^874/10^18.3^25
MNRJ 363, paratype 114^175.4^245/5^7.2^10 143^364.9^798/13^19.2^25
MNRJ 375, paratype 152^196.8^257/5^6.6^9 181^477.0^846/10^15.6^20
MNRJ 443, paratype 146^175.5^215/5^5.8^8 156^437.5^761/6^13.1^24
MNRJ 493, paratype 184^221.7^272/5^8.3^9 150^473.3^810/5^13.6^23
MNRJ 520, paratype 126^187.7^233/5^6.7^10 260^483.6^870/8^13.6^18
MNRJ 523, paratype 120^178.7^238/4^7.4^21 300^611.6^990/5^13.3^25
MNRJ 571, paratype 157^181.2^238/4^6.8^8 270^544.0^850/5^10.0^20
MNRJ 685, paratype 155^208.1^350 (456)/4^5.9^9 135^379.6^650/4^9.1^15
MNRJ 707, paratype 146^179.5^269/5^6.8^10 200^516.8^836/8-12.9^20
MNRJ 1688, paratype 165^197.9^262/4^7.2^10 150^457.1^880/2.5^13.3^30
MNRJ 4001, paratype 145^207.6^253 (495)/3^6.4^11 135^389.6^738/3^9.4^15
MNRJ 4004, paratype 136^156.0^176/3^4.9^6 146^419.1^634/4^8.0^11
UFRJPOR 4369, paratype 135^164.4^204/4^5.6^8 174^411.9^708/4^10.4^20
UFRJPOR 4370, paratype 145^196.4^243/4^6.7^9 164^472.9^835/6^11.4^20
UFRJPOR 4371, paratype 135^223.6^379/9^16.1^24 145^367.1^544/7^11.5^17
UFRJPOR 4372, paratype 164^196.9^243/4^6.7^9 184^452.8^709/6^11.8^22

revised prior to any conclusive statement on their taxo-
nomic status.
Remaining records of A. excavans agree in having oxeas
shorter than 1000 mm, but disagree in having styles which
are either 100^150 mm long (type), non-overlapping with
the smaller oxeas, or 160^240 mm long (Hooper et al.,
1997), and overlapping. Pulitzer-Finali (1996) reported
on three specimens with nearly non-overlapping styles
(170^280 mm). Amorphinopsis atlantica sp. nov., 25 specimens
studied, is considered separate from A. excavans in view of
the former’s consistently overlapping oxeas (133^990 mm)
and styles (114^379 mm), being thus distinct from
A. excavan’s type specimen in this respect. This is a weak
character for species’ distinctions, but is considered strong
enough when viewed in conjunction with both species’
widely separated areas of distribution. Purported similari-
ties between the Indo-west Paci¢c sponge fauna and that
of the southwestern Atlantic is restricted to a very few
dubious records possibly comprising complexes of cryptic
species, such as Tethya japonica Sollas, 1888 and
T. seychellensis (Wright, 1881). Some of these alleged widely
distributed species undoubtedly posed challenges on
traditional taxonomists due to their restricted set
of easily accessible morphological characters (e.g.
Callyspongia spp.).
Dendy (1916) decided to erect a new species Ciocalypta
dichotoma Dendy, 1916 for digitiform specimens of
A. foetida. We prefer to consider both species as synonyms.
Amorphinopsis atlantica sp. nov. di¡ers from A. maza (sensu
Erpenbeck & Van Soest, 2002) by the former’s harder
consistency, true oxeas (instead of strongyloxeas) which
are frequently as small as 150 mm (as opposed to larger
than 460 mm in A. maza).
Amorphinopsis megarrhaphea is very similar in spiculation to
A. excavans and the new species described, but its peduncu-
late habit (‘massive, lobose, digitate, erect sponges, which
are attached by a small base’ cf. Lendenfeld, 1903) suggests
it is likely a valid separate species.
Amorphinopsis sacciformis is an encrusting sponge with two
categories of oxeas and one of styles. Larger oxeas can be
over 1000 mm long, with a mean value over 700 mm. It is
considered su⁄ciently distinct from A. atlantica sp. nov.,
which has a single category of oxeas (Figure 3) where
means are mostly under 600 mm, and which is generally
massive, cushion-shaped, or globose.
Amorphinopsis atlantica sp. nov. di¡ers from A. siamensis by
the latter’s large, erect habit (type specimen re-examined,
MNHN DT. 3453; also MNHN DT. 3454). Oxeas are
markedly fusiform, robust (up to 40 mm thick), and slightly
larger (frequently over 1000 mm) than those in the new
species (up to 30 mm thick and always smaller than
1000 mm long). We failed to ¢nd two categories of oxeas in
the type specimen (N¼50).
Additionally, two other species are reported in the
literature as best assigned to Amorphinopsis. A. foetida
(Dendy, 1889; Indo-west Paci¢c) was considered
‘relatively well known in the literature from several popu-
lations in the Indo-west Paci¢c’ by Hooper et al. (1997).
Surprisingly though, these authors were the ¢rst to report
the species from Australia, and with two categories of
styles instead of the typical smaller styles and larger oxeas
encountered in the genus. This species appears distinct
from A. excavans on the basis of its possession of short,
squat, volcano-like projections (Hooper et al., 1997) and
the foetid, valerian-like smell originally reported. This is,
nevertheless, far from well settled, and suggestions that

Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom (2004)

 A new Amorphinopsis from the Atlantic Ocean M. de S. Carvalho et al. 4412.5

Figure 3. Distribution frequency of the size-classes of the oxeas of Amorphinopsis atlantica sp.nov. Holotype (MNRJ 353) and
paratypes (MNRJ 493, 520, 523, 571, 685,1688, 4001).

Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom (2004)

4412.6 M. de S. Carvalho et al. A new Amorphinopsis from the Atlantic Ocean
both could be synonyms were already made in the past
(Lindgren, 1897). Amorphinopsis atlantica sp. nov. possesses
neither the ¢stules, nor the smell, and is considered
distinct.
The other, A. pallescens (Topsent, 1892; western
Mediterranean), is quite distinct and its generic assign-
ment requires a revision. Its styles are larger than the
oxeas (300 vs. 80^160 mm). The latter are the smallest
occurrence for the genus, where oxeas tend to be larger
than 700 mm.
Amorphinopsis atlantica sp. nov. is considered then a valid
new species. Its apparent a⁄nity to Indo-west Paci¢c
species, particularly to the type species, A. excavans, needs
a biogeographic explanation. The genus is present in the
Caribbean too, which suggests a likely Tethyan invasion of
the southern Atlantic. A fragment of ZMA 15035 from
Curac
ao was examined here and appears considerably
distinct from the new species, in view of its much shorter
and slender megascleres, with frequent telescoped endings.
The authors are thankful to Guilherme Muricy for critically
reading the manuscript, and for help with the collection of
specimens. Clare Valentine and Claude Le¤vi are thanked for the
loan of comparative material from the BMNH and MNHN
collections, respectivelly. We also thank CNPq, FAPERJ and
FAPESP for grants and fellowships.
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in
full
please
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