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LEUCALTIS TENUIS HÔZAWA, 1929 (FIGS 11, 12; TABLE 6), Published as part of Lopes, Matheus Vieira & Klautau, Michelle, 2023, Phylogeny and revision of Leucaltis and Leucettusa (Porifera: Calcarea), with new classification proposals and description of a new type of aquiferous system, pp. 691-746 in Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 198 on page 713, DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlad008, http://zenodo.org/record/7894159, {"references":["Hozawa S. 1929. Studies on the calcareous sponges of Japan. Journal of the Faculty of Sciences, Imperial UniVersity of Tokyo 1: 277 - 389."]}

GENUS ROWELLA GEN.NOV. Z o o b a n k r e g i s t r a t i o n: h t t p s: / / z o o b a n k.o r g / urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: 5163DADD-AD0B-47B9- A595-369DACFA329C. Type species: Leucettusa simplicissima Burton, 1932. Synonym: Leucetta – Poléjaeff, 1883: 28; non Haeckel, 1872: 117. Leucettusa – Dendy & Row, 1913: 738; Burton, 1963: 50; Borojević et al., 1990: 258; 2002: 1148; Hooper & Wiedenmayer, 1994: 481; Voigt et al., 2012: 11; Klautau et al., 2013: 454; Riesgo et al., 2018: 835. Etymology: Named after Dr Harold Row for his efforts on the systematics of calcareous sponges and for being the co-author of Leucaltidae. Diagnosis: Leucettidae with an amorphous or tubular massive body.The well-developed cortical skeleton can be comprised of single or multiple layers of triactines and/ or tetractines. The choanosomal and the atrial skeletons are comprised of pygmy triactines and tetractines. Aquiferous system leuconoid, syconoid or both. Remarks: Most of the species here assigned to RoƜella have a tubular body but several others can grow ramifications (e.g. R. simplicissima), while some have a pyriform or amorphous shape (e.g. R. pyriformis and R. dyctiogaster). More than the external morphology, every member of this genus has a peculiar spicule category, named primarily as pygmy triactines and/ or tetractines by Poléjaeff (1883: 67). These spicules are present in the choanosomal and atrial regions, in different proportions among species. We opt to follow Poléjaeff’s termination and refer to these spicules as pygmy in our descriptions. It is important to highlight that Leucaltis and RoƜella were not recovered as sister-taxa. Hence, pygmy spicules are different from the small choanosomal and atrial spicules of Leucaltis, differing from what was previously thought (e.g. Borojević et al., 1990). Pygmy spicules may have even a reduced actine (assuming a V-shape). As Poléjaeff (1883) just called them pygmy, not defining them, we are defining them by their size range (from 10.0–83.0 μm length to 2.5–13.0 μm width) and location scattered in the choanosomal and atrial skeletons. The presence of these morphological traits should be considered in the diagnosis of the genus. We could not resolve doubts on Leucettusa soyo (Hôzawa, 1933). This species had its position questioned in previous works (e.g. Dendy & Row, 1913; Rapp, 2004; Cavalcanti et al., 2013) and was allocated in different calcinean genera. Hôzawa’s (1933) description is doubtful, because important morphological characters, such as the presence of anastomosed tubes, were not clearly mentioned. He described a massive sponge, with radial choanocyte chambers around the atrium. Yet, he also mentioned the presence of ‘ascon-tubes’ and described the aquiferous system as ‘Dendy’s type D’ (Dendy, 1891), i.e. solenoid (Cavalcanti & Klautau, 2011). This is the only description available for this species and it is not satisfactory for its identification. We consider this a case of species inquirenda and highlight Cavalcanti et al. ’s (2013) statement that its position is uncertain and new material is necessary to make a proper genus assignment. Scope: Ten previously described ‘ Leucettusa ’ species are being transferred to the new genus RoƜella: R. connectens (Brøndsted, 1926); R. dictyogaster (Row & Hôzawa, 1931); R. haeckeliana (Poléjaeff, 1883); R. imperfecta (Poléjaeff, 1883); R. lancifera (Dendy, 1924); R. mariae (Brøndsted, 1926); R. pyriformis (Brønsted, 1926); R. simplicissima (Burton, 1932); R. tubulosa (Dendy, 1924) and R. Ʋera (Poléjaeff, 1883). Leucettusa nuda (Azevedo et al., 2009) is considered a junior synonym of R. simplicissima. Leucettusa soyo (Hôzawa, 1933) is considered species inquirenda.

ROWELLA MARIAE (BRØNDSTED, 1926) COMB.NOV. (FIG. 24) Synonyms: Leucettusa mariae – Brøndsted, 1926: 302; Burton, 1963: 555; Cavalcanti et al., 2013: 276; Leucascus mariae – Rapp, 2004: 124; Lanna et al., 2007: 1560. Type specimen: Possible holotype – NHMD-89631/ CAL-242 (only pictures were analysed). Type locality: Cape Maria van Diemen, New Zealand (34°24ʹ S, 172°30ʹ E; inaccurate coordinates). Three Kings – North Cape MEOW ecoregion. Description (Fig. 24A): Sponge body tubular, widen at the apical region and narrow at the base. External colour beige in ethanol. Consistency rough to the touch. Outer and atrial surfaces smooth. One big osculum is located on a depression at the apical region of the tube, surrounded by a membrane. Atrial cavity wide and spacious. The aquiferous system was not described by Brøndsted (1926), but it is probably leuconoid, as at that time Leucettusa was considered leuconoid. Skeleton: Cortical skeleton well developed, having approximately the same thickness as the choanosome. It is comprised of several layers of tangential triactines. Choanosomal and atrial skeletons reduced, mostly devoid of spicules, but sparse pygmy triactines and tetractines can be found., Published as part of Lopes, Matheus Vieira & Klautau, Michelle, 2023, Phylogeny and revision of Leucaltis and Leucettusa (Porifera: Calcarea), with new classification proposals and description of a new type of aquiferous system, pp. 691-746 in Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 198 on page 732, DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlad008, http://zenodo.org/record/7894159, {"references":["Brondsted HV. 1926. Papers from Dr. Th. Mortensen's Pacific Expedition 1914 - 16. XXXV. Sponges from New Zealand. Part II. Videnskabelige Meddelelser fra Dansk Naturhistorisk Forening 81: 295 - 331.","Burton M. 1963. A reVision of the classification of the calcareous sponges. London: British Museum (Natural History).","Cavalcanti FF, Rapp HT, Klautau M. 2013. Taxonomic revision of Leucascus Dendy, 1892 (Porifera: Calcarea) with revalidation of Ascoleucetta Dendy & Frederick, 1924 and description of three new species. Zootaxa 3619: 275 - 314.","Rapp HT. 2004. The first record of the genus Leucascus Dendy, 1892 from the Atlantic Ocean, with description of Leucascus lobatus sp. nov. (Porifera, Calcarea, Calcinea) from Greenland. Steenstrupia 28: 1 - 9.","Lanna E, Rossi AL, Cavalcanti FF, Hajdu E, Klautau M. 2007. Calcareous sponges from Sao Paulo State, Brazil (Porifera: Calcarea: Calcinea) with the description of two new species. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the UK 87: 1553 - 1561."]}

FAMILY LEUCALTIDAE DENDY & ROW, 1913 The most recent diagnosis of Leucaltidae is: Clathrinida with a tubular, ramified or even anastomosed cormus with many oscula, or individualized with a large central atrium and a single osculum. The sponge wall is comprised of a distinct cortex sustained by a well-developed skeleton, and a choanosome. The skeleton of the choanosome and the atrial wall may be absent or comprised of small and dispersed triactines and tetractines (Borojević et al., 2002). According to our molecular and morphological results, only Leucaltis should be included in Leucaltidae. The aquiferous system of Leucaltis does not fit into any of the five types accepted up to date. Past works have considered it analogous to the leuconoid (e.g. Lanna et al., 2009) or syconoid (e.g. Wörheide & Hooper, 1999) aquiferous systems, although the choanocyte chambers are not spherical nor do they have a regular radial orientation around the atrium. Pinacocytes are restricted to the external and atrial surfaces. Dendy (1893) described the ‘ type C’ for this organization of the choanocyte chambers, which are mostly elongated and ramified, commonly fusing with each other (Fig. 3). It must not be mistaken with the solenoid aquiferous system because, in Leucaltis, the choanoderm is present inside the ramified chambers, instead of revesting the internal part of the anastomosed choanocyte tubes. Finally, it differs from the sylleibid aquiferous system because choanocyte chambers do not group around a common exhalant chamber. This kind of aquiferous system is present in five out of the six accepted species (following this work). Leucaltis sambucus is said to be leuconoid, but samples of this species were not found, hence we cannot corroborate if it has indeed a leuconoid aquiferous system. Considering that the aquiferous system of Leucaltis has been referred to as leuconoid in past descriptions, it is possible that L. sambucus is not leuconoid, but has the distinct aquiferous system of the other Leucaltis species. Leucaltis corticata is mentioned as having a similar aquiferous system to Leucaltis clathria (Poléjaeff, 1883: 10): ‘with the extension of the flagellated chambers into larger cavities of irregular outline, which come into contact with each other and anastomose, thus forming still larger sinus-like spaces’. For that reason, we draw attention to the presence of the new aquiferous system of Leucaltis in Leucaltis corticata. We suggest the name kladonoid for this new aquiferous system, derived from the Greek kladotós (= ΚΛαδωτός), branched, ramified. For Leucaltidae, we propose to modify the diagnosis to: Clathrinida with a body comprised of large, ramified and anastomosed tubes; never clathroid. Each tube has a distinct cortex, a choanoderm and a central atrium. The skeleton of the choanosome and atrium is comprised of regular and/or sagittal triactines and tetractines much smaller than the cortical ones. Aquiferous system kladonoid, with elongated and ramified choanocyte chambers., Published as part of Lopes, Matheus Vieira & Klautau, Michelle, 2023, Phylogeny and revision of Leucaltis and Leucettusa (Porifera: Calcarea), with new classification proposals and description of a new type of aquiferous system, pp. 691-746 in Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 198 on pages 697-698, DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlad008, http://zenodo.org/record/7894159, {"references":["Dendy A, Row H. 1913. The classification and phylogeny of the calcareous sponges, with a reference list of all the described species, systematically arranged. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1913: 704 - 813.","Borojevic R, Boury-Esnault N, Manuel M, Vacelet J. 2002. Order Clathrinida Hartman, 1958. In: Hooper JNA, Van Soest RWM, eds. Systema Porifera: a guide to the classification of sponges. New York: Kluwer Academic / Plenum Publishers, 1141 - 1152.","Lanna E, Cavalcanti FF, Cardoso L, Muricy G, Klautau M. 2009. Taxonomy of calcareous sponges (Porifera, Calcarea) from Potiguar Basin, NE Brazil. Zootaxa 1973: 1 - 27.","Worheide G, Hooper JNA. 1999. Calcarea from the Great Barrier Reef. I: cryptic Calcinea from Heron Island and Wistari Reef (Capricorn-Bunker group). Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 43: 859 - 891.","Dendy A. 1893. Studies on the comparative anatomy of sponges. V. Observations on the structure and classification of the Calcarea Heterocoela. Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science 35: 159 - 257.","Polejaeff N. 1883. Report on the Calcarea dredged by the HMS Challenger during the years 1873 - 1876. Report on the Scientific Results of the Voyage Challenger (Zoology) 8: 1 - 76."]}

FAMILY LEUCETTIDAE DE LAUBENFELS, 1936 Recent molecular data draw attention to the relationship of the genus we are proposing here, RoƜella gen. nov., with other genera within the family Leucettidae de Laubenfels, 1936 (e.g. Voigt et al., 2012, 2017; Klautau et al., 2013; Riesgo et al., 2018) and we confirm this relationship. The current diagnosis of Leucettidae is: Clathrinida with a solid body. The aquiferous system is always leuconoid. The choanoskeleton is well-developed, in the form of a regular network comprised of triactines and/or tetractines. The cortex is thin and comprised of spicules similar to those of the choanoskeleton (Borojević et al., 2002). Several morphological aspects are similar among RoƜella, Leucetta and Pericharax. The three genera have a solid, massive body and a leuconoid aquiferous system (occasionally syconoid in RoƜella); triactines and tetractines, different from the large cortical category, are present in the choanosomal and atrial skeletons. The cortical region is more developed in RoƜella, with several large layers of spicules, whereas it is thin in Leucetta and Pericharax. To include the genus RoƜella in Leucettidae, the diagnosis of this family is being modified to: Clathrinida with a solid massive body, never anastomosed. Aquiferous system leuconoid or syconoid. The choanoskeleton is disorganized and formed by a network of triactines and/or tetractines of equal size or smaller than those found in the cortex. Cortical spicules are often found also in the choanoskeleton., Published as part of Lopes, Matheus Vieira & Klautau, Michelle, 2023, Phylogeny and revision of Leucaltis and Leucettusa (Porifera: Calcarea), with new classification proposals and description of a new type of aquiferous system, pp. 691-746 in Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 198 on pages 714-715, DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlad008, http://zenodo.org/record/7894159, {"references":["de Laubenfels MW. 1936. A discussion of the sponge fauna of the dry Tortugas in particular and the West Indies in general, with material for a revision of the families and orders of the Porifera. Tortugas Laboratory Occasional Papers 467: 1 - 225.","Voigt O, Wulfing E, Worheide G. 2012. Molecular phylogenetic evaluation of classification and scenarios of character evolution in calcareous sponges (Porifera, Class Calcarea). PLoS One 7: e 334171 - e 334116.","Voigt O, Erpenbeck D, Gonzalez-Pech RA, Al-Aidaroos AM, Berumen ML, Worheide G. 2017. Calcinea of the Red Sea: providing a DNA barcode inventory with description of four new species. Marine BiodiVersity 47: 1009 - 1034.","Klautau M, Azevedo F, Condor-Lujan B, Rapp HT, Collins A, Russo CADM. 2013. A molecular phylogeny for the order Clathrinida rekindles and refines Haeckel's taxonomic proposal for calcareous sponges. IntegratiVe and ComparatiVe Biology 53: 447 - 461.","Riesgo A, Cavalcanti FF, Kenny NJ, Rios P, Cristobo J, Lanna E. 2018. Integrative systematics of clathrinid sponges: morphological, reproductive and phylogenetic characterisation of a new species of Leucetta from Antarctica (Porifera, Calcarea, Calcinea) with notes on the occurrence of flagellated sperm. InVertebrate Systematics 32: 827 - 841.","Borojevic R, Boury-Esnault N, Manuel M, Vacelet J. 2002. Order Clathrinida Hartman, 1958. In: Hooper JNA, Van Soest RWM, eds. Systema Porifera: a guide to the classification of sponges. New York: Kluwer Academic / Plenum Publishers, 1141 - 1152.","Hozawa S. 1929. Studies on the calcareous sponges of Japan. Journal of the Faculty of Sciences, Imperial UniVersity of Tokyo 1: 277 - 389."]}

ROWELLA TUBULOSA (DENDY, 1924) COMB.NOV. (FIGS 26, 27; TABLE 14) Synonyms and citations: Leucettusa tubulosa – Dendy, 1924: 476; Burton, 1963: 50; Kelly et al., 2009: 45; Kelly, 2018: 20. Type specimen: One lectotype (BMNH 1923.10.1.2) and two paralectotypes (BMNH 1923.10.1.3-4). Type locality: Near Three Kings Islands, New Zealand (34°24ʹ S, 172°06ʹ E). Three Kings–North Cape MEOW ecoregion. Description: Sponge body tubular, cylindrical to vase-shaped and ramified at the base. The types are dark brown to black in the outer region because of the fixation with osmium tetroxide. Internally, the sponge is beige (Fig. 26A, B). Incompressible and rough to the touch. Outer surface smooth (Fig. 26C, D). Atrial surface hispid due to the apical actines of the tetractines (Fig. 26E). One osculum is present at the end of each tube. They are simple circular apertures or slits without membrane (Fig. 26B). The body wall is thick (Fig. 26C). The atrial cavity is spacious and the excurrent canals are evident. Aquiferous system leuconoid with spherical to subspherical choanocyte chambers (Fig. 26E). Granular cells are distributed all over the body, more frequently in the cortical and atrial surfaces (Fig. 26F). Skeleton: Cortical skeleton well developed, although not as thick as the choanosome (Fig. 26C). It is comprised of several layers of tangential triactines and tetractines (Fig. 26 C-D). Choanosomal skeleton comprised of pygmy triactines and tetractines, mostly present around canals. Large cortical spicules can also be found in the choanosome (Fig. 26C). Pygmy spicules are also present in the atrium, lying tangentially, with tetractines being more abundant and projecting their apical actine into the atrial cavity (Fig. 26E–F).

LEUCALTIS CORTICATA (HAECKEL, 1872) COMB.NOV. (FIG. 6; TABLE 2) Synonyms: Leucetta corticata – Haeckel, 1872: 129; Poléjaeff, 1883: 29; Aphroceras corticata – Haeckel, 1872: 130; Leucettusa corticata – Dendy & Row, 1913: 739; Burton, 1963: 550; Borojević et al., 1990: 259; 2002: 1148. Type specimen: No type material designated. The specimen used in the original description was not found. Type locality: Cuba, Caribbean Sea (21°58ʹ N, 77°23ʹ W; inaccurate coordinates). Greater Antilles MEOW ecoregion. Material examined: Original description. Description: Sponge formed by a mass of anastomosed tubes (Fig. 6A). Tubes are mostly cylindrical, compressed in few parts. Colour brown after fixation. Outer and atrial surfaces smooth. Osculum not apparent. Aquiferous system described as formed by elongated choanocyte chambers, occasionally fusing REVISION OF LEUCALTIS AND LEUCETTUSA 703 a Haeckel (1872) did not mention which category had these measurements. with each other (Haeckel, 1872: 235; Poléjaeff, 1883: 10), which matches the kladonoid type. Skeleton (Fig. 6B): Cortical skeleton well developed, comprised of several layers of tangential triactines. Choanosomal skeleton reduced, with triactines sparse around the canals. These spicules are also present in the atrium, laying tangentially., Published as part of Lopes, Matheus Vieira & Klautau, Michelle, 2023, Phylogeny and revision of Leucaltis and Leucettusa (Porifera: Calcarea), with new classification proposals and description of a new type of aquiferous system, pp. 691-746 in Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 198 on pages 702-703, DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlad008, http://zenodo.org/record/7894159, {"references":["Haeckel E. 1872. Die KalkschMamme. Eine monographie, Vols 1 - 3. Berlin: Reimer.","Polejaeff N. 1883. Report on the Calcarea dredged by the HMS Challenger during the years 1873 - 1876. Report on the Scientific Results of the Voyage Challenger (Zoology) 8: 1 - 76.","Dendy A, Row H. 1913. The classification and phylogeny of the calcareous sponges, with a reference list of all the described species, systematically arranged. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1913: 704 - 813.","Burton M. 1963. A reVision of the classification of the calcareous sponges. London: British Museum (Natural History).","Borojevic R, Boury-Esnault N, Vacelet J. 1990. A revision of the intraspecific classification of the subclass Calcinea (Porifera, class Calcarea). Bulletin du Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle. Section A, Zoologie, Biologie et Ecologie Animales 12: 243 - 276."]}

ROWELLA SIMPLICISSIMA (BURTON, 1932) COMB.NOV. (FIGS 13, 14; TABLE 7) Synonyms: Leucettusa simplicissima – Burton, 1932: 261; Burton, 1963: 51. Leucettusa simplissima – Borojević et al., 1990: 257 (misspelling). Leucaltis nuda – Azevedo et al., 2009: 9; Leucettusa nuda – Klautau et al., 2013: 449; Fontana et al., 2018: 336 Lopes et al., 2018a: 59; Riesgo et al., 2018: 830. Type specimen: Holotype (BMNH 1928.2.15.35). Type locality: Off Sea Lion Island, East Falkland Island, South Atlantic (52°33ʹ S, 59°04ʹ W). Malvinas / Falklands and Araucanian MEOW ecoregion. Description: Sponge tubular or ramified with cylindrical tubes (Fig. 13A). It grows parallel to the substrate and raises the tubes that bear oscula. Colour white in life and creamy-white to beige in ethanol (Fig. 13A, B). Consistency slightly compressible and friable to the touch. Outer surface smooth, while the atrial surface is hispid due to the apical actines of tetractines. Single, circular and naked oscula are present in each tube. Body wall overall thin. Atrial cavity wide and spacious, many excurrent canals are evident (Fig. 13B). Aquiferous system syconoid, with elongated choanocyte chambers (Fig. 13C). Reproductive elements (oocytes) are present in the MNRJ specimens. Skeleton: Oscular margin has a transitional skeleton comprised of sagittal triactines and rare tetractines, gradually becoming regular as the body wall thickens. Cortical skeleton well developed and comprised of several layers of tangential triactines and fewer tetractines (Fig. 13D, E). Choanosomal skeleton with sparse pygmy triactines and tetractines, mostly present around the exhalant canals. The atrial skeleton is not well developed, often with pygmy tangential triactines and tetractines (Fig. 13F). Overall, the pygmy triactines are less abundant than the pygmy tetractines. Spicules (Table 7): Cortical triactines (Fig. 14A). Regular. Variable sizes. Actines are mostly cylindrical, straight, with blunt to sharp tips. Sometimes there is a constriction near the tip. Size – 274.0 (± 69.0) μm length/19.0 (± 5.0) μm width. Cortical tetractines (Fig. 14B). Regular. Variable sizes. Basal actines are cylindrical to conical, straight, with blunt to sharp tips. The apical actine is long, cylindrical to slightly conical, straight, smooth, with blunt tips. Its tip can be straight, spiral or curved. Tetractines are less abundant and larger than the 718 M. V. LOPES and M. KLAUTAU triactines. Size – basal actines: 315.0 (± 137.0) μm length/35.0 (± 10.0) μm width; apical actine: 454.0 (± 132.0) μm length/36.0 (± 10.8) μm width. Choanosomal and atrial triactines (Fig. 14C). Regular. Pygmy. Actines are conical, straight with blunt to sharp tips. Sometimes they become cylindrical and are thicker near the tip. They are less abundant than the tetractines. Size – 35.5 (± 5.2) μm length/7.5 (± 1.7) μm width. Choanosomal and atrial tetractines (Fig. 14D). Regular. Pygmy. Basal actines are conical, straight with blunt tips. Sometimes they become cylindrical and are thicker near the tip. The apical actine is long, thick, slightly conical, smooth, with sharp tips and slightly curved at the distal part. Size – basal actines: 33.8 (± 4.9) μm length/6.9 (± 1.1) μm width; apical actine: 63.8 (± 9.3) μm length/8.1 (± 1.1) μm width. Ecology: Coarse sand, shell and stone grounds. The specimens from Chile were found in vertical substrate. Depth range 22 to 75 m. Geographical distribution (MEOW ecoregion): Malvinas /Falklands and Araucanian (Sea Lion Island, Falkland Islands, South Atlantic – Burton, 1932), Chiloense (Reñihue Fjord, Central-South Chile – Azevedo et al., 2009). Remarks: Burton described Leucettusa simplicissima in 1932 based on a couple of specimens collected in the Falklands during the Discovery Expedition. He stated that the diagnostic character of this species was the underdeveloped atrial skeleton, with occasional pygmy triactines. Indeed, the atrial skeleton has scattered pygmy spicules, nonetheless, pygmy tetractines are also present and they are even more abundant than the pygmy triactines. Despite this, the pygmy tetractines were overlooked in previous works (Burton, 1932, 1963; Borojević et al., 1990, 2002). The authors also overlooked the cortical tetractines, which are numerous, although less abundant than the cortical triactines. aTaken from Azevedo et al. (2009). H, holotype. The main character that separates R. simplicissima from other species of RoƜella is the syconoid aquiferous system, although two other species currently classified as Leucettusa present this kind of aquiferous system: L. Ʋera (now R. Ʋera) from Kerguelen and L. nuda from the Chilean fjords. The aquiferous system of R. Ʋera can be easely differentiated from that of R. simplicissima because its elongated chambers are restricted only to the region underneath the cortex, while in the lower parts of the choanosome, closer to the atrium, chambers are spherical (Poléjaeff, 1883; Borojević & Grua, 1965). For Leucettusa nuda the story is different. That species was originally described as Leucaltis because of the organisation of the aquiferous system (Azevedo et al., 2009) and, later, with molecular data, it was transferred to Leucettusa (Klautau et al., 2013). Leucettusa nuda and R. simplicissima occur in the Magellanic Province (Spalding et al., 2007) and both have the same morphological characters: syconoid aquiferous system, triactines and tetractines in the cortical skeleton and pygmy triactines and tetractines in the choanosome and atrium. Moreover, the shape and size of the spicules are similar in both species (Table 7). Taking this into consideration, we conclude that L. nuda is a junior synonym of R. simplicissima. In the original description of R. simplicissima, it was stated that the only difference between this species and R. haeckeliana is the presence of tetractines in the cortex of the latter (Burton, 1932). However, after re-analysing the holotype skeleton of R. simplicissima, we found cortical tetractines in it. In fact, the two species are morphologically similar, but they differ from each other by the aquiferous system, which is syconoid in R. simplicissima and leuconoid in R. haeckeliana, and by the shape of the pygmy spicules, with basal actines always straight in R. simplicissima and casually curved in the osculum in R. haeckeliana. Moreover, the pygmy spicules of R. haeckeliana are broadened at the distal portion of the actine. The cortical tetractines are abundant in R. simplicissima and rare in R. haeckeliana. Therefore, we consider them distinct species, although we have found that specimens from the Falkland Islands identified as ‘ Leucettusa ’ haeckeliana (Burton, 1932) are probably R. simplicissima (see Remarks under R. haeckeliana)., Published as part of Lopes, Matheus Vieira & Klautau, Michelle, 2023, Phylogeny and revision of Leucaltis and Leucettusa (Porifera: Calcarea), with new classification proposals and description of a new type of aquiferous system, pp. 691-746 in Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 198 on pages 716-719, DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlad008, http://zenodo.org/record/7894159, {"references":["Burton M. 1932. Sponges. DiscoVery Reports 6: 237 - 392.","Burton M. 1963. A reVision of the classification of the calcareous sponges. London: British Museum (Natural History).","Borojevic R, Boury-Esnault N, Vacelet J. 1990. A revision of the intraspecific classification of the subclass Calcinea (Porifera, class Calcarea). Bulletin du Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle. Section A, Zoologie, Biologie et Ecologie Animales 12: 243 - 276.","Azevedo F, Hajdu E, Willenz P, Klautau M. 2009. New records of Calcareous sponges (Porifera, Calcarea) from the Chilean coast. Zootaxa 2072: 1 - 30.","Klautau M, Azevedo F, Condor-Lujan B, Rapp HT, Collins A, Russo CADM. 2013. A molecular phylogeny for the order Clathrinida rekindles and refines Haeckel's taxonomic proposal for calcareous sponges. IntegratiVe and ComparatiVe Biology 53: 447 - 461.","Fontana T, Condor-Lujan B, Azevedo F, Perez T, Klautau M. 2018. Diversity and distribution of calcareous sponges (subclass Calcinea) from Martinique. Zootaxa 4410: 331 - 369.","Lopes MV, Condor-Lujan B, Azevedo F, Perez T, Klautau M. 2018 a. A new genus of calcareous sponge discovered in the Caribbean Sea: Bidderia gen. nov. (Porifera, Calcarea, Calcinea). Zootaxa 4526: 56 - 70.","Riesgo A, Cavalcanti FF, Kenny NJ, Rios P, Cristobo J, Lanna E. 2018. Integrative systematics of clathrinid sponges: morphological, reproductive and phylogenetic characterisation of a new species of Leucetta from Antarctica (Porifera, Calcarea, Calcinea) with notes on the occurrence of flagellated sperm. InVertebrate Systematics 32: 827 - 841.","Polejaeff N. 1883. Report on the Calcarea dredged by the HMS Challenger during the years 1873 - 1876. Report on the Scientific Results of the Voyage Challenger (Zoology) 8: 1 - 76.","Borojevic R, Grua P. 1965. Eponges calcaires de Kerguelen. Systematique et ecologie. ArchiVes de Zoologie Experimentale et Generale 105: 1 - 29.","Spalding MD, Foz HE, Allen GR, Davidson N, Ferdana ZA, Finlayson M, Halpern BS, Jorge MA, Lombana A, Lourie SA, Martin KD, McManus E, Molnar J, Recchia CA, Robertson J. 2007. Marine ecoregions of the world: a bioregionalization of coastal and shelf areas. Bioscience 57: 573 - 583."]}

ROWELLA VERA (POLÉJAEFF, 1883) COMB.NOV. (FIG. 28; TABLE 15) Synonyms: Leucetta Ʋera – Poléjaeff, 1883: 68; Leucettusa Ʋera – Dendy & Row, 1913: 739; Burton, 1963: 557; Borojević & Grua, 1965: 11. Leucilla Ʋera – Fell, 1950: 10. Type specimen: Holotype (BMNH 1884.4.22.60). Type locality: Off Kerguelen Island, South Indian Ocean (49°30ʹ S, 70°30ʹ E). Kerguelen Islands MEOW ecoregion. Description: The holotype is only a small fragment (Fig. 28A, B). Colour light beige (surface) and brown (mesohyl) in ethanol. Compressible and soft to the touch. Outer surface smooth. Atrial surface hispid due to the apical actines of tetractines. Osculum could not be seen. Body wall thick. Atrial cavity spacious with conspicuous excurrent canals. Aquiferous system peculiar: near the cortex (one-third of the body wall) the choanocyte chambers are elongated and cylindrical (syconoid), while near the atrial surface (other twothirds) they are subspherical (leuconoid) (Fig. 28C). Large granular cells found surrounding the canals. Few young oocytes present in the holotype. Skeleton: Oscular margin with sagittal triactines that gradually become regular as the body wall thickens. Cortical skeleton well developed, although not as thick as the choanosome. It is comprised of several layers of tangential triactines and tetractines (Fig. 28C). The apical actine of the cortical tetractines crosses the choanosome, sometimes penetrating the atrium. The choanosomal skeleton is comprised of pygmy triactines and tetractines, mostly present around canals. These spicules are also present in the atrium, laying tangentially, with pygmy tetractines being more abundant and projecting their apical actine into the atrial cavity., Published as part of Lopes, Matheus Vieira & Klautau, Michelle, 2023, Phylogeny and revision of Leucaltis and Leucettusa (Porifera: Calcarea), with new classification proposals and description of a new type of aquiferous system, pp. 691-746 in Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 198 on page 738, DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlad008, http://zenodo.org/record/7894159, {"references":["Polejaeff N. 1883. Report on the Calcarea dredged by the HMS Challenger during the years 1873 - 1876. Report on the Scientific Results of the Voyage Challenger (Zoology) 8: 1 - 76.","Dendy A, Row H. 1913. The classification and phylogeny of the calcareous sponges, with a reference list of all the described species, systematically arranged. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1913: 704 - 813.","Burton M. 1963. A reVision of the classification of the calcareous sponges. London: British Museum (Natural History).","Borojevic R, Grua P. 1965. Eponges calcaires de Kerguelen. Systematique et ecologie. ArchiVes de Zoologie Experimentale et Generale 105: 1 - 29.","Fell HB. 1950. The Kirk collection of sponges (Porifera) in the Zoology Museum, Victoria University College. Zoology Publications from Victoria UniVersity of Wellington 4: 1 - 12."]}

ROWELLA DICTYOGASTER (ROW & HÔZAWA, 1931) COMB.NOV. (FIG. 17; TABLE 9) Synonyms: Leucettusa dictyogaster – Row & Hôzawa, 1931: 751; Burton, 1963: 576; non Leucettusa dictyogaster – Dendy & Row, 1913: 739; Dendy, 1924: 280 (nomen nudum). Type specimen: Holotype (Tokyo Science Faculty Spec. No. BC) possibly lost. Type locality: Koombana Bay, Bunbury, Western Australia (22°29ʹ S, 113°57ʹ E). Leeuwin MEOW ecoregion. Material examined: Original description. Description: Sponge massive and amorphous with a single osculum atop (Fig. 17A). Colour greyish in ethanol. Consistency hard outside and soft inside. Outer surface smooth and uneven with few depressions. Osculum oval with a membrane. Body wall thick, tapering towards the top and the base of the REVISION OF LEUCALTIS AND LEUCETTUSA 723 sponge. Atrial cavity narrow and slightly hispid due to the apical actine of the atrial tetractines. Many visible excurrent canals reach the atrial surface. Aquiferous system leuconoid with oval to spherical choanocyte chambers and lacunar canals. Skeleton: The oscular margin has sagittal triactines, which possibly derive from the regular cortical triactines (Fig. 17B). Cortical skeleton well developed, comprised of several layers of tangential triactines and microdiactines. No spicules were mentioned for the choanosomal region. Atrial skeleton comprised of pygmy tetractines. Spicules (Table 9): Cortical microdiactines (Fig. 17C). Cylindrical, sinuous and curved. Both tips are sharp; however, one is fusiform, while the other is arrow-shaped. Size – 30.0–130.0 μm length/6.0–10.0 μm width. Cortical triactines (Fig. 17D). Regular. Actines are cylindrical, with sharp tips. Size – 380.0–580.0 μm length/30.0–50.0 μm width. Atrial tetractines (Fig. 17E). Sagittal. Pygmy. Basal actines are conical, with sharp tips. The paired actines are slightly shorter than the unpaired one. The apical actine is long, conical, smooth, slightly curved, with sharp tips. Size – paired actine: 20.0–40.0 μm length/6.0 μm width; unpaired actine: 30.0–50.0 μm length/8.0 μm width; apical actine: 100.0–120.0 μm length/8.0 μm width. Ecology: No information available. Geographical distribution (MEOW ecoregion): Leeuwin (Koombana Bay – originally Bunbury Bay – Bunbury, Western Australia – Row & Hôzawa, 1931). Remarks: Row & Hôzawa (1931) described Leucettusa dictyogaster after five specimens collected in Bunbury Bay, Western Australia. Curiously, prior to the species description, this species was mentioned in the systematic review of Dendy & Row (1913) without any description other than the aquiferous system. The specimens used for the species description are lost but, since it possesses a massive body and pygmy spicules, we propose to transfer it to the new genus RoƜella. One unique character of R. dictyogaster is the presence of microdiactines in the cortical skeleton. These spicules are commonly found in the subclass Calcaronea and rare in calcinean species (e.g. Ascandra minchini Borojević, 1966). Although they could be considered a contamination, they were mentioned by Row & Hôzawa (1931) as being present in all the five specimens analysed. Therefore, we consider microdiactines part of this species. Disregarding these spicules, the skeleton of R. dictyogaster is simple. The only categories found are the cortical triactines and the atrial tetractines. Oscular triactines are considered modified cortical triactines. We have confirmed that some categories, mostly pygmy spicules, are often overlooked in this group of species possibly because of the size and, sometimes, low abundancy. It is also possible that R. dictyogaster has rare tetractines in the cortex and scattered pygmy spicules in the choanosome. It is necessary to re-analyse specimens from Bunbury to check these spicules and properly perform taxonomic comparisons with other RoƜella species., Published as part of Lopes, Matheus Vieira & Klautau, Michelle, 2023, Phylogeny and revision of Leucaltis and Leucettusa (Porifera: Calcarea), with new classification proposals and description of a new type of aquiferous system, pp. 691-746 in Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 198 on pages 722-724, DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlad008, http://zenodo.org/record/7894159, {"references":["Row RWH, Hozawa S. 1931. Report on the Calcarea obtained by the Hamburg South-West Australian Expedition of 1905. Science Reports of the Tohoku Imperial UniVersity (4) 6: 727 - 809, pls XIX - XXI.","Burton M. 1963. A reVision of the classification of the calcareous sponges. London: British Museum (Natural History).","Dendy A, Row H. 1913. The classification and phylogeny of the calcareous sponges, with a reference list of all the described species, systematically arranged. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1913: 704 - 813.","Dendy A. 1924. Porifera. Part I. Non-Antarctic sponges. Natural History Report. British Antarctic (Terra NoVa) Expedition, 1910 (Zoology) 6: 269 - 392, pls I - XV.","Borojevic R. 1966. Eponges calcaires des cotes de France. II. Le genre Ascandra Haeckel emend. ArchiVes de Zoologie Experimentale et Generale 107: 357 - 367."]}

LEUCALTIS NODUSGORDII (POLÉJAEFF, 1883) (FIGS 9, 10; TABLE 4), Published as part of Lopes, Matheus Vieira & Klautau, Michelle, 2023, Phylogeny and revision of Leucaltis and Leucettusa (Porifera: Calcarea), with new classification proposals and description of a new type of aquiferous system, pp. 691-746 in Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 198 on page 708, DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlad008, http://zenodo.org/record/7894159, {"references":["Polejaeff N. 1883. Report on the Calcarea dredged by the HMS Challenger during the years 1873 - 1876. Report on the Scientific Results of the Voyage Challenger (Zoology) 8: 1 - 76."]}

LEUCALTIS CLATHRIA HAECKEL, 1872 (FIGS 4, 5; TABLE 1) Synonyms: Artynas clathria – Haeckel, 1872: 159. Leucaltis clathria – Haeckel, 1872: 159; Arndt, 1941: 46; Burton, 1963: 598; Borojević & Peixinho, 1976: 1002; Borojević et al., 2002: 1148; Dohrmann et al., 2006: 832; Muricy et al., 2008: 131; Lanna et al., 2009: 13; Muricy et al., 2011: 35; Klautau et al., 2013: 449; Van Soest & De Voogd, 2015: 43; Cóndor-Luján & Klautau, 2016: 232; Van Soest, 2017: 198, Cóndor-Luján et al., 2018: 61; Fontana et al., 2018: 354; Lopes et al., 2018a: 59; 2018b: 139; non Dendy, 1913: 16; Leucetta clathria – Poléjaeff, 1883: 29; Heteropegma nodus gordii – Poléjaeff, 1883: 45 (in part, Bermuda material only); Heteropegma nodus-gordii – Hanitsch, 1895: 209; Amphoriscus nodusgordii – Breitfuss, 1898: 90; Leucaltis sp. – Thacker et al., 2013: 385. Type specimen: Fragment (MNHN. LBIM. C 1968.667) and slides (BMNH 1956.4.26.42) of Haeckel’s specimen used in the original description (holotype). Type locality: Florida, United States of America (27°54ʹ N, 80°01ʹ W; inaccurate coordinates). Floridian ecoregion. Description: Sponge body tubular and repent with some anastomosis (Fig. 4A, B). The anastomosis is variable; it can be loose and sparse or dense, with tubes closely attached to each other. Tubes are mostly cylindrical, but commonly compressed in few parts, giving the body a folded appearance. Consistency harsh to the touch, relatively firm and friable. Colour white or pink in life and white, beige to light brown or pink after fixation (Fig. 4A, B). Outer surface smooth. Body wall thin (Fig. 4C). Atrial cavity wide and spacious. Atrial surface slightly hispid due to the apical actines of cortical and atrial tetractines. Oscula are few, simple circular apertures without ornamentation (Fig. 5A). The aquiferous system represents the new type, kladonoid, with choanocyte chambers mostly elongated and ramified, commonly these ramifications fuse with each other (Fig. 4C). Skeleton: The oscular margin has a transitional skeleton comprised of large sagittal triactines and tetractines, gradually becoming regular as the body wall thickens. Cortical skeleton well developed, with several layers of tangential triactines and tetractines (Fig. 4D). Choanosomal skeleton reduced, with many regular triactines and tetractines sparse around the canals (Fig. 4E). Excurrent canals and atrial skeleton comprised of sagittal triactines and tetractines, lying tangentially, with the apical actines pointing into the atrial cavity (Fig. 4F)., Published as part of Lopes, Matheus Vieira & Klautau, Michelle, 2023, Phylogeny and revision of Leucaltis and Leucettusa (Porifera: Calcarea), with new classification proposals and description of a new type of aquiferous system, pp. 691-746 in Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 198 on page 699, DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlad008, http://zenodo.org/record/7894159, {"references":["Haeckel E. 1872. Die KalkschMamme. Eine monographie, Vols 1 - 3. Berlin: Reimer.","Arndt W. 1941. Eine neuere Ausbeute von Meeresschwammen der West und Sudkuste Portugals. Memorias do Museu de Zoologia da UniVersidade de Coimbra 116: 1 - 75.","Burton M. 1963. A reVision of the classification of the calcareous sponges. London: British Museum (Natural History).","Borojevic R, Peixinho S. 1976. Eponges calcaires du nordnord-est du Bresil. Bulletin du Museum National d´Histoire Naturelle, 3 402: 988 - 1036.","Borojevic R, Boury-Esnault N, Manuel M, Vacelet J. 2002. Order Clathrinida Hartman, 1958. In: Hooper JNA, Van Soest RWM, eds. Systema Porifera: a guide to the classification of sponges. New York: Kluwer Academic / Plenum Publishers, 1141 - 1152.","Dohrmann M, Voigt O, Erpenbeck D, Worheide G. 2006. Non-monophyly of most supraspecific taxa of calcareous sponges (Porifera, Calcarea) revealed by increased taxon sampling and partitioned Bayesian analysis of ribosomal DNA. Molecular Phylogenetics and EVolution 40: 830 - 843.","Muricy G, Esteves EL, Moraes FC, Santos JP, da Silva SM, Klautau M, Lanna E. 2008. BiodiVersidade Marinha da Bacia Potiguar. Rio de Janeiro: Museu Nacional.","Lanna E, Cavalcanti FF, Cardoso L, Muricy G, Klautau M. 2009. Taxonomy of calcareous sponges (Porifera, Calcarea) from Potiguar Basin, NE Brazil. Zootaxa 1973: 1 - 27.","Muricy G, Lopes DA, Hajdu E, Carvalho MS, Moraes FC, Klautau M, Menegola C, Pinheiro U. 2011. Catalogue of Brazilian Porifera. Rio de Janeiro: Museu Nacional.","Klautau M, Azevedo F, Condor-Lujan B, Rapp HT, Collins A, Russo CADM. 2013. A molecular phylogeny for the order Clathrinida rekindles and refines Haeckel's taxonomic proposal for calcareous sponges. IntegratiVe and ComparatiVe Biology 53: 447 - 461.","Van Soest RWM, De Voogd NJ. 2015. Calcareous sponges of Indonesia. Zootaxa 3951: 1 - 105.","Condor-Lujan B, Klautau M. 2016. Nicola gen. nov. with redescription of Nicola tetela (Borojevic & Peixinho, 1976) (Porifera: Calcarea: Calcinea: Clathrinida). Zootaxa 4103: 230 - 238.","Van Soest RWM. 2017. Sponges of the Guyana Shelf. Zootaxa 4217: 1 - 40.","Condor-Lujan B, Louzada TS, Hajdu E, Klautau M. 2018. Morphological and molecular taxonomy of calcareous sponges (Porifera: Calcarea) from Curacao, Caribbean Sea. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 182: 1 - 67.","Fontana T, Condor-Lujan B, Azevedo F, Perez T, Klautau M. 2018. Diversity and distribution of calcareous sponges (subclass Calcinea) from Martinique. Zootaxa 4410: 331 - 369.","Lopes MV, Condor-Lujan B, Azevedo F, Perez T, Klautau M. 2018 a. A new genus of calcareous sponge discovered in the Caribbean Sea: Bidderia gen. nov. (Porifera, Calcarea, Calcinea). Zootaxa 4526: 56 - 70.","Lopes MV, Padua A, Condor-Lujan B, Klautau M. 2018 b. Calcareous sponges (Porifera, Calcarea) from Florida: new species, new records and biogeographical affinities. Zootaxa 4526: 127 - 150.","Polejaeff N. 1883. Report on the Calcarea dredged by the HMS Challenger during the years 1873 - 1876. Report on the Scientific Results of the Voyage Challenger (Zoology) 8: 1 - 76.","Hanitsch R. 1895. Notes on a collection of sponges from the west coast of Portugal. Transactions of the LiVerpool Biological Society 9: 205 - 219.","Breitfuss LL. 1898. Kalkschwammfauna der Westkuste Portugals. Zoologische Jahrburger Abteilung fur Systematik 11: 89 - 102.","Thacker RW, Hill AL, Hill MS, Redmond NE, Collins AG, Morrow CC, Spicer L, Carmack CA, Zappe ME, Pohlmann D, Hall C, Diaz M-C, Bangalore PV. 2013. Nearly complete 28 S rRNA gene sequences confirm new hypotheses of sponge evolution. IntegratiVe and ComparatiVe Biology 53: 373 - 387."]}

ROWELLA LANCIFERA (DENDY, 1924) COMB.NOV. (FIGS 22, 23; TABLE 12) Synonyms: Leucettusa lancifer – Dendy, 1924: 278; Brøndsted, 1926: 301; Burton, 1929: 402; Burton, 1963: 555; Pritchard et al., 1984: 128; Kelly et al., 2009: 45; Leucettusa imperfecta – Burton, 1963: 598; Leucettusa lancifera – Kelly, 2018: 19. T y p e s p e c i m e n: O n e l e c t o t y p e (B M N H 1 9 2 3. 1 9. 1. 5) a n d o n e p a r a l e c t o t y p e (B M N H 1923.10.1.6). L, lectotype; PL, paralectotype. Type locality: Three Kings Islands, New Zealand (34°24ʹ S, 172°06ʹ E; inaccurate coordinates). Three Kings–North Cape MEOW ecoregion. Description: Sponge tubular with vase-shaped form, strongly oval at the top, tapering to the base. Colour white to beige in ethanol (Fig. 22A). Consistency compressible to the touch. Outer surface smooth. Folds of choanosomal tissue delimitate the atrial cavity (Fig. 22B). One apical osculum, elevated and surrounded by a membrane. Aquiferous system leuconoid with subspherical to oval choanocyte chambers (Fig. 22C). Skeleton: Cortical skeleton well developed, having approximately the same thickness as the choanosome; comprised of several layers of tangential triactines (Fig. 22D). Choanosomal and atrial skeletons reduced and comprised of pygmy triactines and tetractines mostly present around canals (Fig. 22E, F). Pygmy tetractines are also abundant near the osculum., Published as part of Lopes, Matheus Vieira & Klautau, Michelle, 2023, Phylogeny and revision of Leucaltis and Leucettusa (Porifera: Calcarea), with new classification proposals and description of a new type of aquiferous system, pp. 691-746 in Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 198 on pages 729-732, DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlad008, http://zenodo.org/record/7894159, {"references":["Dendy A. 1924. Porifera. Part I. Non-Antarctic sponges. Natural History Report. British Antarctic (Terra NoVa) Expedition, 1910 (Zoology) 6: 269 - 392, pls I - XV.","Brondsted HV. 1926. Papers from Dr. Th. Mortensen's Pacific Expedition 1914 - 16. XXXV. Sponges from New Zealand. Part II. Videnskabelige Meddelelser fra Dansk Naturhistorisk Forening 81: 295 - 331.","Burton M. 1929. Porifera. Part II. Antarctic sponges. British Antarctic (' Terra Nova') Expedition, 1910. Natural History Report, London, Zoology 6: 393 - 458.","Pritchard K, Ward V, Battershill C, Bergquist PR. 1984. Marine sponges: forty-six sponges of northern New Zealand. Leigh Laboratory Bulletin 14: 1 - 149.","Kelly M, Edwards AR, Wilkinson MR, Alvarez B, Cook S de C, Bergquist PR, Buckeridge JS, Campbell HJ, Reiswig HM, Valentine C, Vacelet J. 2009. Phylum Porifera: sponges. In: Gordon DP, ed. NeM Zealand inVentory of biodiVersity, Vol 1. Kingdom Animalia: Radiata, Lophotrochozoa, Deuterostomia. Christchurch: Canterbury University Press, 23 - 46.","Burton M. 1963. A reVision of the classification of the calcareous sponges. London: British Museum (Natural History).","Kelly M. 2018. Splendid sponges: a guide to the sponges of NeM Zealand, V. 3. Auckland: National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) Taihoro Nukurangi."]}

ROWELLA CONNECTENS (BRØNDSTED, 1926) COMB. NOV. (FIGS 15, 16; TABLE 8) Synonyms: Leucandra connectens – Brøndsted, 1926: 308; Burton, 1963: 552. Type specimen: Five syntypes under the same voucher (NHMD-633253). Type locality: Cape Maria van Diemen, Northland, New Zealand (34°24ʹ S, 172°30ʹ E; inaccurate coordinates). Three Kings–North Cape MEOW ecoregion. Description: Sponge body tubular and digitate (Fig. 15A). Colour cream in ethanol. Consistency incompressible but slightly soft to the touch. Outer surface smooth. Cortex with multiple small inhalant apertures, giving it a porous appearance. Oscula present at the apical region of the tubes. They are simple slits or circular and surrounded by membrane with specific skeleton (Fig. 15B). Body wall thick, tapering towards the top and base of the sponge. Atrial cavity narrow and slightly hispid due to the apical actine of tetractines. Aquiferous system leuconoid with spherical choanocyte chambers (Fig. 15C). Skeleton: The oscular margin has sagittal triactines and tetractines, which gradually become regular as the body wall thickens (Fig. 15B). The cortical skeleton is well developed, although it is not as thick as the choanosome (Fig. 15C). The cortical skeleton has several layers of tangential triactines and few tetractines, which project their apical actine into the choanosome, but never reaching the atrium (Fig. 15D). The choanosomal skeleton is comprised of large triactines and pygmy triactines and tetractines, mostly present around the canals. The pygmy spicules are also present in the atrium, laying tangentially (Fig. 15E), with pygmy tetractines being more abundant and projecting their apical actine into the atrial cavity. Spicules (Table 8): Cortical triactines (Fig. 16A). Regular. Variable sizes. Actines are cylindrical to slightly conical, straight or slightly undulated in the middle portion. Tips are blunt. Size – 313.5 (± 77.5) μm length/24.5 (± 7.7) μm width. Cortical tetractines (Fig. 16B). Regular. Basal actines are conical, slightly undulated, with blunt to sharp tips. The apical actine is slightly conical, straight and smooth, with blunt to sharp tips. It is frequently longer than the basal actines. These spicules are less abundant and bigger than the cortical triactines. Size – basal actines: 376.7 (± 83.7) μm length/38.3 (± 3.6) μm width; apical actine: 1,042.6 (± 172.2) μm length/47.1 (± 7.0) μm width. Choanosomal and atrial triactines (Fig. 16C). Regular. Pygmy. Actines are conical and straight, with blunt to rounded tips. They are less abundant than the tetractines in the atrium. Size – 44.5 (± 9.1) μm length/6.6 (± 1.7) μm width. Choanosomal and atrial tetractines (Fig. 16D). Regular. Pygmy. Basal actines are conical and straight, with blunt to rounded tips. The apical actine is conical, smooth, blunt and straight or slightly curved at the distal part. Size – basal actines: 46.8 (± 6.8) μm length/6.7 (± 6.7 μm) width; apical actine: 49.6 (± 7.4) μm length/6.6 (± 1.1) μm width. Ecology: Two specimens were found attached to rock boulders with colonial bryozoans, barnacles, calcareous tubes of polychaetes and algae. They were collected by dredging at 92 m depth. Geographical distribution (MEOW ecoregion): Three K i n g s–N o r t h C a p e (C a p e M a r i a v a n D i e m e n, Northland, New Zealand – Brøndsted, 1926). Remarks: Brøndsted (1926) stated having difficulties assigning this species to any other genus of Calcarea. He mentioned that this species had a classification between Leucandra Haeckel, 1872 and Leucilla Haeckel, 1872 (Calcaronea). The species was then placed in Leucandra due to the absence of the typical inarticulate skeleton of Leucilla and for having a disorganized choanosomal skeleton (Brøndsted, 1926). If Brøndsted had considered the synapomorphies of Calcinea and Calcaronea (subclasses not accepted by some authors at the beginning of the 20 th century), he would have noticed that Leucandra connectens is, in fact, a calcinean sponge. In addition, considering the pygmy spicules present in the choanosome, the well-developed cortical skeleton and the body shape of this sponge, he would see that his species should be placed in the genus Leucettusa sensu Dendy & Row, 1913. Burton (1963) was the only one who analysed this species after its original description. Even though Burton equivocally proposed its synonym with Leucettusa corticata, he drew attention to the fact that Leucandra connectens is not a Leucandra and that it is related with Leucaltidae sensu Dendy & Row, 1913. Following Burton’s idea, and after the re-analysis of the type specimens of Leucandra connectens, we propose the new combination RoƜella connectens. In this species, in addition to the pygmy spicules, large cortical triactines are also present in the choanosome. This trait is also observed in R. imperfecta and R. tubulosa, but they have cortical tetractines often composing the choanosomal skeleton, instead of triactines. Moreover, these large cortical spicules are abundant in the choanosome of R. connectens, opposing to their occasional presence in R. imperfecta and R. tubulosa., Published as part of Lopes, Matheus Vieira & Klautau, Michelle, 2023, Phylogeny and revision of Leucaltis and Leucettusa (Porifera: Calcarea), with new classification proposals and description of a new type of aquiferous system, pp. 691-746 in Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 198 on pages 719-722, DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlad008, http://zenodo.org/record/7894159, {"references":["Brondsted HV. 1926. Papers from Dr. Th. Mortensen's Pacific Expedition 1914 - 16. XXXV. Sponges from New Zealand. Part II. Videnskabelige Meddelelser fra Dansk Naturhistorisk Forening 81: 295 - 331.","Burton M. 1963. A reVision of the classification of the calcareous sponges. London: British Museum (Natural History).","Haeckel E. 1872. Die KalkschMamme. Eine monographie, Vols 1 - 3. Berlin: Reimer.","Dendy A, Row H. 1913. The classification and phylogeny of the calcareous sponges, with a reference list of all the described species, systematically arranged. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1913: 704 - 813."]}

GENUS LEUCALTIS HAECKEL, 1872 Type species: Leucaltis clathria Haeckel, 1872 (subsequent designation by Dendy & Row, 1913). Diagnosis: The same as that of the family. Synonyms: Artynas – Haeckel, 1872: 405; Heteropegma – Poléjaeff, 1883: 25; Dendy, 1913: 17; Dendy & Row, 1913: 737; Leucaltis – Haeckel, 1872: 142; Dendy & Row, 1913: 737; Borojević & Peixinho, 1976: 1002; Borojević et al., 1990: 258; 2002: 1147; Lévi, 1998: 75; Wörheide & Hooper, 1999: 877; Borojević & Klautau, 2000: 190; Klautau et al., 2013: 454; Leucaltusa – Haeckel, 1872: 143; Leucetta – Poléjaeff, 1883: 28; Leucettusa – present study. Remarks: The body of Leucaltis species is formed by tubes that anastomose in most parts. Each tube is covered with cortex and atrium with endopinacoderm. Even though the body wall of Leucaltis includes cortical, choanosomal and atrial skeletons, it is thin. It is important to highlight that the choanosomal and atrial spicules of Leucaltis are much smaller than the cortical ones. They are mostly cylindrical, thin and frequently become sagittal at the excurrent canals and at the atrial surface. Scope: Three species of Leucaltis are currently accepted: L. clathria Haeckel, 1872; L. nodusgordii (Poléjaeff, 1883) and L. tenuis Hôzawa, 1929, but we propose the transference of three other species to this genus: Clathrina latitubulata Carter, 1886, Leucettusa corticata (Haeckel, 1872) and Leucettusa sambucus (Preiwisch, 1904)., Published as part of Lopes, Matheus Vieira & Klautau, Michelle, 2023, Phylogeny and revision of Leucaltis and Leucettusa (Porifera: Calcarea), with new classification proposals and description of a new type of aquiferous system, pp. 691-746 in Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 198 on pages 698-699, DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlad008, http://zenodo.org/record/7894159, {"references":["Haeckel E. 1872. Die KalkschMamme. Eine monographie, Vols 1 - 3. Berlin: Reimer.","Dendy A, Row H. 1913. The classification and phylogeny of the calcareous sponges, with a reference list of all the described species, systematically arranged. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1913: 704 - 813.","Polejaeff N. 1883. Report on the Calcarea dredged by the HMS Challenger during the years 1873 - 1876. Report on the Scientific Results of the Voyage Challenger (Zoology) 8: 1 - 76.","Borojevic R, Peixinho S. 1976. Eponges calcaires du nordnord-est du Bresil. Bulletin du Museum National d´Histoire Naturelle, 3 402: 988 - 1036.","Borojevic R, Boury-Esnault N, Vacelet J. 1990. A revision of the intraspecific classification of the subclass Calcinea (Porifera, class Calcarea). Bulletin du Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle. Section A, Zoologie, Biologie et Ecologie Animales 12: 243 - 276.","Levi C. 1998. Sponges of the NeM Caledonian lagoon. Paris: Editions ORSTOM.","Worheide G, Hooper JNA. 1999. Calcarea from the Great Barrier Reef. I: cryptic Calcinea from Heron Island and Wistari Reef (Capricorn-Bunker group). Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 43: 859 - 891.","Borojevic R, Klautau M. 2000. Calcareous sponges from New Caledonia. Zoosystema 22: 187 - 201.","Klautau M, Azevedo F, Condor-Lujan B, Rapp HT, Collins A, Russo CADM. 2013. A molecular phylogeny for the order Clathrinida rekindles and refines Haeckel's taxonomic proposal for calcareous sponges. IntegratiVe and ComparatiVe Biology 53: 447 - 461.","Dendy A. 1893. Studies on the comparative anatomy of sponges. V. Observations on the structure and classification of the Calcarea Heterocoela. Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science 35: 159 - 257.","Hozawa S. 1929. Studies on the calcareous sponges of Japan. Journal of the Faculty of Sciences, Imperial UniVersity of Tokyo 1: 277 - 389.","Carter HJ. 1886. Descriptions of the sponges from the neighbourhood of Port Phillip Heads, South Australia, continued. Annals and Magazine of Natural History 15 - 18: 431 - 441.","Preiwisch J. 1904. Kalkschwamme aus dem Pacific. Ergebnisse einer Reise nach dem Pacific, Schauinsland 1896 - 97. Zoologische Jahrbucher Abteilung Systematik, Geographie und Biologie der Thiere 19: 9 - 26."]}

Family Clathrinidae Minchin, 1900 Genus Clathrina Gray, 1867 Diagnosis. Calcinea in which the cormus comprises anastomosed tubes. A stalk may be present. The skeleton contains regular (equiangular and equiradiate) and/or parasagittal triactines, to which diactines and tripods may be added. Asconoid aquiferous system (from Azevedo et al. 2015)., Published as part of Sim-Smith, Carina, Hickman, Cleveland & Kelly, Michelle, 2021, New shallow-water sponges (Porifera) from the Galápagos Islands, pp. 1-71 in Zootaxa 5012 (1) on page 56, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5012.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/5158062, {"references":["Minchin, E. A. (1900) Chapter III. Sponges. In: Lankester, E. R. (Ed.), A Treatise on Zoology. Part II. The Porifera and Coelenterata. Vol. 2. Adam & Charles Black, London, pp. 1 - 178.","Gray, J. E. (1867) Notes on the arrangement of sponges, with the descriptions of some new genera. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, 1867 (2), 492 - 558.","Azevedo, F., Condor-Lujan, B., Willenz, P., Hajdu, E., Hooker, Y. & Klautau, M. (2015) Integrative taxonomy of calcareous sponges (subclass Calcinea) from the Peruvian coast: morphology, molecules, and biogeography. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 173, 787 - 817. https: // doi. org / 10.1111 / zoj. 12213"]}

GENUS LEUCETTA HAECKEL, 1872 Type species: Leucetta primigenia Haeckel, 1872. Diagnosis: ��� Leucettidae with a homogeneous organisation of the wall and a typical leuconoid aquiferous system. There is neither a clear distinction between the cortex and the choanoskeleton, nor the presence of a distinct layer of subcortical inhalant cavities. The atrium is frequently reduced to a system of exhalant canals that open directly into the osculum��� (Borojević et al., 2002)., Published as part of Klautau, Michelle, Lopes, Matheus Vieira, Tavares, Gabriela & P��rez, Thierry, 2022, Integrative taxonomy of calcareous sponges (Porifera: Calcarea) from R��union Island, Indian Ocean, pp. 671-725 in Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 194 on page 699, DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlab014, http://zenodo.org/record/6354284, {"references":["Haeckel E. 1872. Die Kalkschwamme. Eine monographie, Vols 1 - 3. Berlin: Reimer.","Borojevic R, Boury-Esnault N, Manuel M, Vacelet J. 2002. Order Clathrinida Hartman, 1958. In: Hooper JNA, Van Soest RWM, eds. Systema Porifera: a guide to the classification of sponges. New York: Kluwer Academic / Plenum Publishers, 1141 - 1152."]}

The Western Indian Ocean Province is reckoned for its rich marine diversity; however, sponges of the Mascarene Islands ecoregion are still poorly known. In La Réunion, only three species of class Calcarea have been registered. Hence, calcareous sponges were searched in seven sites representing various habitats of the Western coast of La Réunion, but found in only three of them. A total of 23 sponge samples was identified using morphological and molecular taxonomy. This sampling represents 11 species, all new records for the region, and seven of them are new to science: Ascandra mascarenica sp. nov., A. oceanusvitae sp. nov., Janusya indica gen. et sp. nov., Leucascus tenuispinae sp. nov., Lelapiella tertia sp. nov., Soleneiscus intermedius sp. nov. and Leucandra ornata sp. nov.; and a new genus, Janusya gen. nov.. Based on results from this and from previous studies, we propose the synonymization of the order Murrayonida with Clathrinida. A very low sampling effort has thus increased the number of calcareous sponge species from the Mascarenes Islands ecoregion by 69 % and from La Réunion by 367%.

ASCANDRA MASCARENICA SP. NOV. (FIGS 9, 10; TABLE 4) Z o o b a n k r e g i s t r a t i o n: u r n: l s i d: z o o b a n k. org:act: 774A6B27-B4E3-4A85-830F-4BCFB2869574. Diagnosis: Ascandra whose cormus is loosely anastomosed and has apical water-collecting tubes. Skeleton composed of diactines with one lanceolated tip, triactines and two size categories of tetractines. Apical actines are conical. Etymology: The species name refers to ecoregion of the type locality, the Mascarene Islands. Type locality: Passe de l���Hermitage, La R��union, Indian Ocean. Ty p e m a t e r i a l: H o l o t y p e ��� U F R J P O R 8 9 3 6 (= 171109- PAE2 - TP12), Passe de l���Hermitage Reef, La R��union, Indian Ocean, coll. T. P��rez, 9 November 2017, 18��� 20 m depth. Colour: White in life and light brown to white in ethanol (Fig. 9A, B). Morphology and anatomy: Sponge formed by loosely anastomosed tubes (Fig. 9A, B). Large water-collecting tubes are present at the apical region (Fig. 9B). Surface hispid (Fig. 9C). Aquiferous system asconoid. Skeleton composed of tetractines of two sizes, diactines and few triactines (Fig. 9D). The diactines are perpendicular to the tubes., Published as part of Klautau, Michelle, Lopes, Matheus Vieira, Tavares, Gabriela & P��rez, Thierry, 2022, Integrative taxonomy of calcareous sponges (Porifera: Calcarea) from R��union Island, Indian Ocean, pp. 671-725 in Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 194 on page 689, DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlab014, http://zenodo.org/record/6354284

ASCANDRA OCEANUSVITAE SP. NOV. (FIGS 11, 12; TABLE 5) Z o o B a n k r e g i s t r a t i o n: u r n: l s i d: z o o b a n k. org:act: 05205855-E843-4E38-B3EF-3DA6548EA5B2. Diagnosis: Ascandra whose cormus is ramified, having only few anastomoses. Water-collecting tubes are not present. Skeleton composed of fusiform diactines, frequently with one tip larger, two size categories of triactines and of tetractines. Etymology: For the Vie Océane Association, one of the institutions responsible for organizing the taxonomy course that allowed the collection of the sponges published here. The name is Latinized to oceanus (=ocean) and vita (=life). Type locality: Passe de l’Hermitage, La Réunion, Indian Ocean. Ty p e m a t e r i a l: H o l o t y p e – U F R J P O R 8 9 4 4 (= 171109- PAE2 - TP19). Paratype – UFRJPOR 8946 (= 171109-PAE2-TP21). Other material – UFRJPOR 8947 (= 171109- PAE2 - TP22). Passe de l’Hermitage Reef, La Réunion, Indian Ocean, coll. T. Pérez, 9 November 2017, 18– 20 m depth. Colour: White in life and light brown or grey in ethanol (Fig. 11A, B). Morphology and anatomy: Sponge formed by ramified tubes with few anastomoses and no water-collecting tubes (Fig. 11A, B). The surface of the tubes is hispid because of the presence of perpendicular diactines (Fig. 11C). Aquiferous system asconoid. The skeleton is composed of diactines, two size categories of triactines and tetractines. The larger triactines are rare. Diactines lie perpendicular to the tubes. The small triactines are the most abundant spicules (Fig. 11D).

GENUS JANUSYA GEN. NOV. Zoobank registration: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: 7F1DD58A-C896-4DF1-9DDC-817B4D30E400. Type species: Janusya indica sp. nov. Etymology: The new genus is dedicated to Jean Vacelet, who is affectionately known as Janus, in recognition for all his work on Porifera, including calcareous sponges. Diagnosis: Calcinea in which the cormus comprises a typical clathroid body. A stalk may be present. The skeleton contains regular (equiangular and equiradiate) or subregular triactines and tetractines. Tetractines are less abundant than triactines, sometimes even rare, but they always have needle-like apical actines. Diactines may be added. The aquiferous system is asconoid., Published as part of Klautau, Michelle, Lopes, Matheus Vieira, Tavares, Gabriela & P��rez, Thierry, 2022, Integrative taxonomy of calcareous sponges (Porifera: Calcarea) from R��union Island, Indian Ocean, pp. 671-725 in Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 194 on page 682, DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlab014, http://zenodo.org/record/6354284

GENUS ASCANDRA HAECKEL, 1872 Type species: Ascandra falcata Haeckel, 1872. Diagnosis: ��� Calcinea with loosely anastomosed tubes. Tubes are free, at least in the apical region. The skeleton contains regular (equiangular and equiradiate) or sagittal triactines and tetractines. The apical actine is thin (needle-like) or thick at the base. Diactines may be added. Asconoid aquiferous system��� (Klautau et al., 2016)., Published as part of Klautau, Michelle, Lopes, Matheus Vieira, Tavares, Gabriela & P��rez, Thierry, 2022, Integrative taxonomy of calcareous sponges (Porifera: Calcarea) from R��union Island, Indian Ocean, pp. 671-725 in Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 194 on page 687, DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlab014, http://zenodo.org/record/6354284, {"references":["Haeckel E. 1872. Die Kalkschwamme. Eine monographie, Vols 1 - 3. Berlin: Reimer.","Klautau M, Imesek M, Azevedo F, Plese B, Nikolic V, Cetkovic H. 2016. Adriatic calcarean sponges (Porifera, Calcarea), with the description of six new species and a richness analysis. European Journal of Taxonomy 178: 1 - 52."]}

JANUSYA INDICA SP. NOV. (FIGS 5, 6; TABLE 2) Zoobank registration: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: 79DA23AC-B3EE-42B0-8BB3-1DA5F592AF9A. Etymology: Named in reference to the type locality located in the Indian Ocean. Diagnosis: Yellowish to beige Janusya in which the cormus is incrusting to globulose, formed by regular and tightly anastomosed tubes with long, apical, water-collecting tube. The skeleton contains fusiform diactines, trichoxeas, triactines and rare tetractines. Type locality: Passe de l���Hermitage, La R��union, Indian Ocean. Type material: Holotype ��� UFRJPOR 8945 (= 171109- PAE2 - TP20). Paratype ��� UFRJPOR 8932 (= 171109- PAE2 - TP6). Passe de l���Hermitage Reef, La R��union, Indian Ocean, coll. T. P��rez, 9 November 2017, 18��� 20 m depth. A d d i t i o n a l m a t e r i a l e x a m i n e d: U F R J P O R 8 9 3 1 (= 1 7 1 1 0 9- PA E2 -T P 5), U F R J P O R 8 9 4 0 (= 171109-PAE2-TP16). Passe de l���Hermitage Reef, La R��union, Indian Ocean, coll. T. P��rez, 9 November 2017, 18��� 20 m depth. Colour: Sponge yellowish beige in life (Fig. 5A, B) and light brown in ethanol (Fig. 5C, D). Morphology and anatomy: Sponge incrusting to globulose (Fig. 5). Cormus clathroid, formed by regular and tightly anastomosed tubes (Fig. 5). One or few apical oscula, surrounded by membrane (Fig. 5A). The osculum is a long water-collecting tube, i.e. a larger tube with osculum that receives the water from several other thinner tubes. Underneath the osculum of globulose specimens, there is a cavity that is not lined by a continuous membrane. Cells with yellow granules are present and distributed homogeneously in the mesohyl of the specimens UFRJPOR 8945 and UFRJPOR 8932 (Fig. 6A, B, respectivelly). The aquiferous system is asconoid and the skeleton is composed of diactines, trichoxeas, triactines and rare tetractines (Fig. 6C���F)., Published as part of Klautau, Michelle, Lopes, Matheus Vieira, Tavares, Gabriela & P��rez, Thierry, 2022, Integrative taxonomy of calcareous sponges (Porifera: Calcarea) from R��union Island, Indian Ocean, pp. 671-725 in Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 194 on page 682, DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlab014, http://zenodo.org/record/6354284

LEUCETTA CHAGOSENSIS DENDY, 1913 (FIG. 16; TABLE 8) Synonyms: Leucetta chagosensis Dendy, 1913: 10; Dendy & Row, 1913: 733; Dendy & Frederick, 1924: 482; Burton, 1963: 241; Borojević, 1967: 2; Pulitzer-Finali, 1982: 89; Gosliner et al., 1996: 16; L��vi, 1998: 77; W��rheide & Hooper, 1999: 882; Borojević & Klautau, 2000: 194; W��rheide et al., 2002: 1753, 2005: 379; Baine & Harasti, 2007: 15; W��rheide et al., 2008: 1; Voigt et al., 2012: 101; Van Soest & De Voogd, 2015: 51, 2018: 76; George et al., 2020: 285; Klautau et al., 2020: 279; Pasnin et al., 2020: 6. Leucetta sp. Colin & Arneson, 1995: 60 (photo 230). Ascoleucetta sagittata Cavalcanti et al., 2013: 308; Van Soest & De Voogd, 2015: 49; Lopes et al., 2018: 59; Klautau et al., 2020: 265. Type locality: Salomon, Chagos Archipelago, Indian Ocean. M a t e r i a l e x a m i n e d: U F R J P O R 8 9 3 9 (= 171109- PAE2 - TP15). Photos: TP6059���6060. Passe de l���Hermitage Reef, La R��union, Indian Ocean, coll. T. P��rez, 9 November 2017, 18��� 20 m depth. Colour: Lemon-yellow alive and white after fixation (Fig. 16A, B). Morphology and anatomy: Sponge formed by several globose parts, each one with a single apical osculum surrounded by membrane (Fig. 16A, B). Surface smooth and transparent. Canals can be seen below the surface. Although the atrium is reduced, it obviously receives a large number of exhalant canals. The aquiferous system is leuconoid (Fig. 16C). The skeleton is composed of two size categories of cortical triactines (Fig. 16D). The small triactines form the main part of the choanosomal skeleton, which has also rare small tetractines surrounding the canals. The atrial skeleton is composed of the small triactines and the rare tetractines., Published as part of Klautau, Michelle, Lopes, Matheus Vieira, Tavares, Gabriela & P��rez, Thierry, 2022, Integrative taxonomy of calcareous sponges (Porifera: Calcarea) from R��union Island, Indian Ocean, pp. 671-725 in Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 194 on pages 699-701, DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlab014, http://zenodo.org/record/6354284, {"references":["Dendy A, Row H. 1913. The classification and phylogeny of the calcareous sponges, with a reference list of all the described species, systematically arranged. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1913: 704 - 813.","Dendy A, Frederick LM. 1924. On a collection of sponges from the Abrolhos Islands, Western Australia. Journal of the Linnean Society of London, Zoology 16: 1 - 29.","Burton M. 1963. A revision of the classification of the calcareous sponges. London: British Museum (Natural History).","Borojevic R. 1967. Eponges calcaires recueillies en Nouvelle- Caledonie par la Mission Singer-Polignac. Editions da la Fondation Singer-Polignac, Paris 2: 1 - 12.","Gosliner TM, Behrens DW, Williams GC. 1996. Coral reef animals of the Indo-Pacific: animal life from Africa to Hawaii exclusive of the vertebrates. Monterey: Sea Challengers.","Levi C. 1998. Sponges of the New Caledonian lagoon. Paris: Editions ORSTOM.","Worheide G, Hooper JNA. 1999. Calcarea from the Great Barrier Reef. I: cryptic Calcinea from Heron Island and Wistari Reef (Capricorn-Bunker group). Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 43: 859 - 891.","Borojevic R, Klautau M. 2000. Calcareous sponges from New Caledonia. Zoosystema 22: 187 - 201.","Worheide G, Hooper JNA, Degnan BM. 2002. Phylogeography of western Pacific Leucetta ' chagosensis' (Porifera: Calcarea) from ribosomal DNA sequences: implications for population history and conservation of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area (Australia). Molecular Ecology 11: 1753 - 1768.","Worheide G, Sole-Cava AM, Hooper JNA. 2005. Biodiversity, molecular ecology and phylogeography of marine sponges: patterns, implications and outlooks. Integrative and Comparative Biology 45: 377 - 385.","Baine M, Harasti D. 2007. The marine life of Bootless Bay, Papua New Guinea. Port Moresby: Motupore Island Research Centre.","Worheide G, Epp SL, Macis L. 2008. Deep genetic divergences among Indo-Pacific populations of the coral reef sponge Leucetta chagosensis (Leucettidae): founder effects, vicariance, or both? BMC Evolutionary Biology 8: 24.","Voigt O, Wulfing E, Worheide G. 2012. Molecular phylogenetic evaluation of classification and scenarios of character evolution in calcareous sponges (Porifera, Class Calcarea). PLoS One 7: 1 - 16.","Van Soest RWM, De Voogd NJ. 2015. Calcareous sponges of Indonesia. Zootaxa 3951: 1 - 105.","Van Soest RWM, De Voogd NJ. 2018. Calcareous sponges of the western Indian Ocean and Red Sea. Zootaxa 4426: 1 - 160.","George AM, Van Soest RWM, Sluka RD, Lazarus S. 2020. A checklist of marine sponges (Porifera) of peninsula India. Zootaxa 4885: 277 - 300.","Klautau M, Lopes MV, Guarabyra B, Folcher E, Ekins M, Debitus C. 2020. Calcareous sponges from the French Polynesia (Porifera: Calcarea). Zootaxa 4748: 261 - 295.","Pasnin O, Voigt O, Worheide G, Murillo Rincon AP, Von der Heyden S. 2020. Indo-Pacific phylogeography of the lemon sponge Leucetta chagosensis. Diversity 12: 466.","Colin PL, Arneson C. 1995. Tropical Pacific invertebrates. A field guide to the marine invertebrates occurring on tropical pacific coral reefs, seagrass beds and mangroves. Beverly Hills: Coral Reef Research Foundation.","Cavalcanti FF, Rapp HT, Klautau M. 2013. Taxonomic revision of Leucascus Dendy, 1892 (Porifera: Calcarea) with revalidation of Ascoleucetta Dendy & Frederick, 1924 and description of three new species. Zootaxa 3619: 275 - 314.","Lopes MV, Condor-Lujan B, Azevedo F, Perez T, Klautau M. 2018. A new genus of calcareous sponge discovered in the Caribbean Sea: Bidderia gen. nov. (Porifera, Calcarea, Calcinea). Zootaxa 4526: 56 - 70."]}

Six Indo-Pacific sponges are recorded for the first time from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands: Agelas ceylonica sensu Thomas, 1981, Axinella donnani (Bowerbank, 1873), Dragmacidon australe (Bergquist, 1970), Siphonodictyon maldiviense (Calcinai, Cerrano, Sarà & Bavestrello, 2000), Clathrina clara Klautau & Valentine, 2003 and Plakortis bergquistae Muricy, 2011. Among them, D. australe, S. maldiviense and P. bergquistae are indeed new records to India. These findings not only represent new additions to sponge fauna of India, but also highlight the importance of markedly overlooked sponge diversity of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Clathrina clara Klautau & Valentine, 2003 (Figures 6 A–D) Synonymy: Clathrina clara Klautau & Valentine 2003: 46–47, fig. 39; Veena and Laxmilatha 2011: 2–3, fig.1, 2 Material examined: 1 specimen, ZSI/ANRC–20973, September 15, 2017, Rutland Island (site I), South Andaman, Coll. Preeti Pereira. Description: Encrusting on the undersurface of rocks shaded from sunlight; the specimen examined comprised a thin network of loosely anastomosed tubes. Water-collecting tubes are present, with raised oscula (0.5 cm high and 1cm wide); specimen colour white when alive and on preservation (Fig. 6A); consistency soft and fragile. Spicules: The spicules are equiangular and equiradiate triactines in two size categories (Fig. 6B); actines smooth, conical, with sharp ends. Larger triactines (Fig. 6C) measuring 154.8–213.2–275.4 × 21.5–24.9– 31.2 µm, smaller triactines (Fig. 6D) measuring 60.6–97.2–130.1 × 3.3–6.6– 9.2 µm. Distribution: Clathrina clara is being reported for the first time from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Andaman province. Originally described by Klautau & Valentine (2003) from Christmas Island, Java Transitional province, this species has been known from Vishakapatnam, Bay of Bengal province (Veena & Laxmilatha 2011). Clathrina clara is an Indo-Pacific species and its distribution range is restricted to the Central-west Indo-Pacific realm. Remarks: At present, Clathrina clara is known only from a single specimen from South Andaman. The specimen reported herein has retained its colour on preservation in isopropyl alcohol as opposed to colour change from white to brown in holotype as noted by Klautau & Valentine (2003)., Published as part of Pereira, Preeti & Raghunathan, Chelladurai, 2020, New records of Indo-Pacific sponges from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands India, pp. 81-97 in Zootaxa 4894 (4) on pages 90-91, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4894.1.4, http://zenodo.org/record/4315490, {"references":["Klautau, M. & Valentine, C. (2003) Revision of the genus Clathrina (Porifera, Calcarea). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 139 (1), 1 - 62. https: // doi. org / 10.1046 / j. 0024 - 4082.2003.00063. x","Veena, S. & Laxmilatha, P. (2011) Clathrina clara (Calcarea: Clathrinida: Clathrinidae) as foulers on onshore farmed oysters (Pinctada fucata). Marine Biodiversity Records, 2011, 1 - 5. https: // doi. org / 10.1017 / S 1755267211000893"]}

Clathrina huahineae sp. nov. (Fig 4; Table 4) Synonym. Clathrina sp. nov. 5, Klautau et al. 2013: 449. Etymology. From the type locality (Huahine Island). Type locality. Fare. Huahine Island, Society Islands, French Polynesia. Material examined. Holotype: UFRJPOR 6461 = MNHN-IP- 2018-32 — Huahine Island, Society Islands, Station SH 02 (16° 42.596’ S– 151° 02.640’ W), depth: 14 m, coll. C. Debitus, 20/VIII/2009, P99. Teavonae (Takaroa). Avatoru (Rangiroa). Mehetia. French Polynesia. Paratype: UFRJPOR 6886 = MNHN-IP- 2018-51 — Mehetia, Society Islands, Station SME02 (17°53.110’ S– 148°04.454’ W), depth: 16 m, coll. E. Folcher, 26/IV/2011, P228– SME02. Other material: UFRJPOR 6879 = MNHN-IP- 2018-44 — Takaroa, Tuamotu Islands, Station TTAK01 (14°27.717’ S– 145°02.356’ W), depth: 12 m, coll. D. Fleurisson, 14/ V /2011, P228- TTAK01. UFRJPOR 6880 = MNHN-IP- 2018-45 — Rangiroa, Tuamotu Islands, Station TRAN07 (14°56.215’ S– 147°42.024’ W), depth: 30 m, coll. A. Renaud, 24/ V /2011, P228- TRAN07. UFRJPOR 8954 = MNHN-IP- 2018-63 — Raroia, Tuamotu Islands, Station TRAR15 (16°09.586’ S 142°31.998’ W), depth: 15 m, coll. M. Dumas, 07/XI/2018, P667- TRAR15. UFR- JPOR 8957 = MNHN-IP- 2018-66 — Makemo, Tuamotu Islands, Station TMAK09 (16°38.948’ S– 143°33.333’ W), depth: 23 m, coll. S. Petek, 08/XI/2018, P671- TMAK09. Diagnosis. Yellow Clathrina with large and loosely anastomosed tubes, water-collecting tubes and triactines with very thin, cylindrical actines and rounded to blunt tips. Colour. Yellow alive and beige in ethanol (Fig 4A). Morphology and anatomy. The cormus of this species is massive but delicate, formed by large, irregular, and loosely anastomosed tubes. Large water-collecting tubes are present. Aquiferous system asconoid. The skeleton is composed of two size categories of triactines (Fig B). The triactines I are smaller (Fig 4C) and the triactines II are larger and more abundant (Fig 4D). Spicules (Table 4) Triactines I. Regular (equiangular and equiradiate). Actines are conical, with sharp tips (Fig 4C). Size: 65/ 7.1 µm. Triactines II. Regular (equiangular and equiradiate), subregular or parasagittal. Actines are cylindrical, very thin, with rounded to blunt tips (Fig 4D). The spicules with rounded tips seem to be larger. Frequently actines are undulated. Size: 142.4/ 7.5 µm. Geographical distribution. Huahine Island, Society Islands; Teavonae (Takaroa); Avatoru (Rangiroa); Mehetia; Takaroa, Tuamotu Islands; Rangiroa, Tuamotu Islands. Remarks. According to our molecular analysis, Clathrina huahineae sp. nov. is sister species of the Tropical Western Atlantic species C. mutabilis Azevedo et al., 2017. They are morphologically very similar. Both are yellow and formed by large, loose and irregularly anastomosed tubes and present water-collecting tubes. Besides, they have two kinds of spicules, a regular small triactine with conical actines and sharp tips, which is less abundant, and an abundant regular, subregular or parasagittal large triactine with cylindrical actines. Their only morphological differences are the post-fixation colour, which is white in C. mutabilis and beige in C. huahineae sp. nov., and the tip of the triactines II, which are blunt to rounded in the new species and blunt to sharp in C. mutabilis. We also found a slight difference in the size of the spicules, thicker in C. mutabilis (Holotype, UFRJPOR 6526—Triactine I: 56.7–69.8–91.8/ 8.1–8.4– 9.5 µm; Triactine II: 94.5–121.7–148.5/ 6.8–8.1– 9.5 µm). The other species of Clathrina morphologically similar to the new species are C. beckingae Van Soest & De Voogd, 2015 and C. purpurea Van Soest & De Voogd, 2015. Unfortunately, they could not be molecularly compared because there are no ITS sequences available of those species. Both C. beckingae and C. purpurea have cormus formed by irregular and loosely anastomosed tubes, water-collecting tubes and triactines with very thin cylindrical actines (6 µm). Those species are from Indonesia and can be differentiated from C. huahineae sp. nov. by the colour, which is yellow in our species, white in C. beckingae and reddish purple in C. purpurea (Van Soest & De Voogd 2015). Besides, C. purpurea does not have water-collecting tubes and C. beckingae has smaller spicules (48.0–84.9–106.0/ 6.0 µm)., Published as part of Klautau, Michelle, Lopes, Matheus Vieira, Guarabyra, Bruna, Folcher, Eric, Ekins, Merrick & Debitus, Cécile, 2020, Calcareous sponges from the French Polynesia (Porifera: Calcarea), pp. 261-295 in Zootaxa 4748 (2) on page 271, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4748.2.3, http://zenodo.org/record/3698777, {"references":["Klautau, M., Azevedo, F., Condor-Lujan, B., Rapp, H. T., Collins, A. & Russo, C. A. M. (2013) A molecular phylogeny for the Order Clathrinida rekindles and refines Haeckel's taxonomic proposal for calcareous sponges. Integrative and Comparative Biology, 53, 447 - 461. https: // doi. org / 10.1093 / icb / ict 039","Van Soest, R. W. N. & De Voogd, N. J. (2015) Calcareous sponges of Indonesia. Zootaxa, 3951 (1), 1 - 105. https: // doi. org / 10.11646 / zootaxa. 3951.1.1"]}

Ernstia variabilis sp. nov. (Fig 5, Table 5) Etymology. From the Latin “variabilis” (varied, changeable), due to its variable spicule shape. Type locality. Rairoa, Tuamotu Islands, French Polynesia Material examined. Holotype: UFRJPOR 8963 = MNHN-IP- 2018-56 — Raroia, Tuamotu Islands, Station trar08 (16°02.831’ S 142°25.701’ W), depth: 17 m, coll. M. Dumas, 05/XI/2018, P455- TRAR08. Paratype: UFR- JPOR 8918 = MNHN-IP- 2018-59 — Raivavae, Australes Islands, Station ARAI07 (23°53.282’ S– 147°40.902’ W), depth: 6 m, coll. C. Debitus, 23/III/2013, P455. Other material. UFRJPOR 8962 = MNHN-IP- 2018-71 — Raroia, Tuamotu Islands, Station TRAR02 (16°01.99’ S 142°25.565’ W), depth: 20 m, coll. CS. Petek, 04/XI/2018, P455- TRAR02. UFRJPOR 8964 = MNHN-IP- 2018-42 — Raroia, Tuamotu Islands, Station trar09 (16°02.074’ S 142°25.701’ W), depth: 15 m, coll. V. Bouvot, 05/XI/2018, P455- TRAR09. UFRJPOR 8965 = MNHN-IP- 2018- 52 — Raroia, Tuamotu Islands, Station trar12 (16°00.896’ S 142°25.323’ W), depth: 20 m, coll. M. Dumas, 06/ XI/2018, P455- TRAR12. Diagnosis. Yellow Ernstia with spherical cormus and thin, regular and tightly anastomosed tubes. A single long osculum atop of and atrial cavity. Skeleton composed of two categories of triactines and tetractines, mainly differentiated by shape and size. Aquiferous system solenoid. Colour. Yellow alive and light brown in ethanol (Fig 5A). Morphology and anatomy. Cormus spherical to subspherical formed by thin, regular and tightly anastomosed tubes (Figs 5A, B). There is usually one long apical osculum (Fig 5C), with a continuous endopinacoderm lining the atrial cavity. Aquiferous system solenoid. The skeleton is composed of two categories of triactines, two of tetractines, and trichoxeas (Fig 5D). The apical actines of the tetractines project into the tubes lumen and atrial cavity. The size of triactines II and tetractines II is different depending on the regions of the sponge: the spicules in the oscular region are noticeably larger than the spicules in the other parts of the body. Due to its transitional changes from osculum to choanosome, we consider it the same variable category. Tetractines occur in higher frequencies than triactines. Spicules (Table 5) Triactines I. Regular (equiangular and equiradiate) and smaller than triactines II. This category ressembles a young spicule on formation, but due to its relatively abundance, we considered it as a category apart. Actines are conical with sharp tips (Fig 5E). Size: 41.4/ 5.3 µm. Triactines II. Regular (equiangular and equiradiate) and very abundant. Actines vary highly in shape and size. Spicules from the oscular region are usually cylindrical, ondulated and larger, with blunt tips. Spicules from choanosome are slightly conical to conical and straight, with blunt to slightly sharp tips (Fig 5E). Size: 94.3/ 6.9 µm. Tetractines I. Regular (equiangular and equiradiate) and smaller than tetractines II. This category ressembles a young spicule on formation, but due to its relatively abundance, we considered it as a category apart. Actines are conical with sharp tips. The apical actine is cylindrical, the same size of basal actines, sharp, smooth, and frequently curved (Fig 5G). Size: 43.0/ 5.1 µm (basal actine); 39.1/ 4.1 µm (apical actine). Tetractines II. Regular (equiangular and equiradiate) and very abundant. Actines vary highly in shape and size. Spicules from the oscular region are usually cylindrical, ondulated and larger, with blunt tips. Spicules from choanosome are slightly conical to conical and straight, with blunt to slightly sharp tips (Fig 5F). The apical actine is cylindrical, very long, sharp, smooth, and frequently curved (Fig 5G). Size: 90.6 / 7.0 µm (basal actine); 51.9/ 4.7 µm (apical actine). Geographical distribution. Raroia, Tuamotu Islands and Raivavae, Australes Islands (present work). Remarks. Ernstia variabilis sp. nov. formed a very well supported clade (100% bootstrap) with E. pyrum Sanamyan et al., 2019 and E. citrea Azevedo et al., 2017. The three species are morphologically almost identical, all of them having a spherical yellow cormus formed by tight and regularly anastomosed tubes, long apical osculum and solenoid aquiferous system. Although in the original description of E. citrea it was said that this species has asconoid aquiferous system, we re-analised it and found the membrane of pinacocytes surrounding the atrium, proving that its aquiferous system is solenoid, as Sanamyan et al. (2019) had observed for E. pyrum. We are describing E. variabilis sp. nov. as possessing two categories of triactine and two of tetractines. Re-analysing E. citrea, we think it has also these categories, though in the original description it was considered as having only one category of tri- and one of tetractines. The same can be considered for E. pyrum, if we take into account the size variation of the spicules and look at the original pictures (Sanamyan et al. 2019). Therefore, these three species can be distinguished only by slight differences in the size of their spicules. Ernstia variabilis sp. nov. has spicules thicker than those of E. citrea [Holotype—Triactine: 81.3 (4.3)/ 10.4 (0.7), Tetractine: 82.4 (6.2)/ 10.4 (1.1)] (to compare with Table 5). Ernstia pyrum has a little thicker spicules [Holotype—Triactine—surface and choanosome: 74.8 (14.4)/ 6.9, Triactine—atrial membrane: 83.7 (22.1)/ 7.9, Tri- actine—osculum: 103.9 (30.5)/ 6.9 (1.0), Tetractine—surface and choanosome: 73.6 (13.7)/ 6.6, Tetractine—atrial membrane: 94.1 (24.5)/ 7.4)] (to compare with Table 5). Hence, the three species are almost cryptic, however, we decided to distinguish them based on the molecular tree (Fig 13). In the tree, although the three species form a very well supported clade (100% bootstrap), E. citrea and E. variabilis sp. nov. form two well supported clades (99% and 100% bootstrap, respectively). As E. variabilis sp. nov. is the third species of the genus with solenoid aquiferous system, we proposed an emendation to the current diagnosis: Calcinea in which the cormus comprises a typical clathroid body. A stalk may be present. The skeleton contains regular (equiangular and equiradiate) and/or sagittal triactines and tetractines. Tetractines are the most abundant spicules or occur at least in the same proportion as the triactines. Tetractines frequently have very thin (needle-like) apical actines. Diactines may be added. Asconoid or solenoid aquiferous system (Klautau et al. 2013).

Leucascus digitiformis sp. nov. (Fig 6, Table 6) Etymology. From the Latim “digitus” (finger), for the finger-shaped cormus of this species. Type locality. Tekeho (Nuku Hiva), Marquesas Islands. French Polynesia. Material examined. Holotype: UFRJPOR 6460 = MNHN-IP- 2018-31 — Nuku Hiva, Marquesas Islands, Station MNH04 (08° 57.661’ S– 140° 10.149’ W), depth: 16 m, coll. C. Debitus, 30/VIII/2009, P114. Diagnosis. White Leucascus with digitiform cormus and large oscula. Skeleton composed of tripods, triactines and tetractines with large spines on the apical actine. Colour. White alive and in ethanol (Fig 6A). Morphology and anatomy. Sponge digitiform, massive but delicate (Figs 6A, B). The cormus is formed by thin, regular and tightly anastomosed tubes forming a continuous delicate cortex (Fig 6C). Each protuberance (digitus) present a terminal osculum surrounded by membrane. Below each osculum there is an atrial cavity supported by tetractines. Aquiferous system solenoid. The specimen is full of embryos. The skeleton is composed of tripods and triactines on the cortex (Fig 6C), triactines and tetractines in the choanosome (Fig 6D), and tetractines in the atrial wall. Spicules (Table 6) Tripods. Regular or sagittal. Similar to large triactines. Actines are conical with blunt tips (Fig 6E). Size: 88.0/ 9.3 µm. Triactines. Regular or sagittal. Actines are conical with blunt tips (Fig 6F). Size: 54.7/ 5.3 µm. Tetractines. Regular or sagittal. Actines are conical with blunt tips (Fig 6G). The apical actine is very long, thick, conical and sharp, covered by spines (Fig 6H). Size: 57.4/ 5.5 µm (basal actine); 35.4/ 5.0 µm (apical actine). Geographical distribution. Nuku Hiva, Marquesas Islands (present work). Remarks. Currently 10 species of Leucascus are recognised: L. simplex Dendy, 1892 (type species of the genus) from South Australia; L. albus Cavalcanti, Rapp & Klautau, 2013 from southeastern Brazil; L. clavatus Dendy, 1892 from South Australia; L. flavus Cavalcanti, Rapp & Klautau, 2013 from Indonesia; L. leptoraphis (Jenkin, 1908) from Antarctica; L. lobatus Rapp, 2004 from Greenland; L. neocaledonicus Borojević & Klautau, 2000 from New Caledonia; L. protogenes (Haeckel, 1872) from South Australia; L. roseus Lanna, Rossi, Cavalcanti, Hajdu & Klautau, 2007 from southeastern Brazil; and L. schleyeri Van Soest & De Voogd, 2018 from South Africa. Considering skeleton composition, L. digitiformis sp. nov. is similar to L. leptoraphis and L. lobatus, as all of them have tripods, triactines and tetractines. The new species, however, differs from them by several characteristics. For example, L. leptoraphis and L. lobatus have triactines and tetractines with cylindrical actines, while our new species has spicules with conical actines. Besides, in L. leptoraphis tetractines are very rare and in L. lobatus the tripods have a kind of rudimentary fourth actine in the tripods. Moreover, the spines of the apical actine of the tetractines of L. digitiformis sp. nov. differ from those of all the other species of Leucascus, as they are large in the new species. These large spines resemble those of Borojevia, however, the new species clearly has an atrial membrane, a characteristic of Leucascus and absent in Borojevia. Nonetheless, looking at Borojevia spp., we found that the habitus of Borojevia tubulata Van Soest & De Voogd, 2018, a species from Maldives, is very similar to ours. Besides, a picture showing the atrium of the specimen ZMA Por. 12435, from the Seychelles, suggests that that specimen has a true atrium, although this specimen had grouped molecularly inside Borojevia (Van Soest & De Voogd, 2018). We unfortunately did not succeed to get a DNA sequence of our specimen to compare it with B. tubulata. Therefore, we compared both species only morphologically and we found differences in the size of the spicules [B. tubulata— holotype—Tripods: 92˗133˗189/ 11˗13.4˗16; Triactines: 54˗63˗111/ 5.0˗6.3˗7.5; Tetractines: 51˗68˗96/ 6.0˗6.6˗9.0 (basal), 24˗37˗48/ 3.5˗4.4˗5.0 (apical)] (Table 6). As we found these differences in the size of the spicules and as Van Soest & De Voogd (2018) stated that their species do not have a true atrium, we decided to consider our species as a new one, still, it is desirable in the future to compare them molecularly., Published as part of Klautau, Michelle, Lopes, Matheus Vieira, Guarabyra, Bruna, Folcher, Eric, Ekins, Merrick & Debitus, Cécile, 2020, Calcareous sponges from the French Polynesia (Porifera: Calcarea), pp. 261-295 in Zootaxa 4748 (2) on pages 275-277, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4748.2.3, http://zenodo.org/record/3698777, {"references":["Dendy, A. (1892) Synopsis of the Australian Calcarea Heterocoela; with a proposed classification of the group and descriptions of some new genera and species. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria, 5, 69 - 116.","Cavalcanti, F. F.; Rapp, H. T & Klautau, M. (2013) Taxonomic revision of Leucascus Dendy, 1892 (Porifera: Calcarea) with revalidation of Ascoleucetta Dendy & Frederick, 1924 and description of three new species. Zootaxa, 3619 (3), 275 - 314. https: // doi. org / 10.11646 / zootaxa. 3619.3.3","Jenkin, C. F. (1908) The marine fauna of Zanzibar and British East Africa, from collections made by Cyril Crossland, M. A., in the years 1901 & 1902. The Calcareous Sponges. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, 1908, 434 - 456. [https: // www. biodiversitylibrary. org / item / 99643 page / 46 / mode / 1 up] https: // doi. org / 10.1111 / j. 1469 - 7998.1908. tb 07387. x","Rapp, H. T. (2004) The first record of the genus Leucascus D endy, 1892 from the Atlantic Ocean, with description of Leucascus lobatus sp. nov. (Porifera, Calcarea, Calcinea) from Greenland. Steenstrupia, 28 (2), 1 - 9.","Borojevic, R. & Klautau, M. (2000) Calcareous sponges from New Caledonia. Zoosystema, 22 (2), 187 - 201.","Haeckel, E. (1872) Die Kalkschwamme, eine Monographie. G. Reimer, Berlin, 512 + 440 + 260 pp. https: // doi. org / 10.5962 / bhl. title. 11323","Lanna, E., Rossi, A. L., Cavalcanti, F. F., Hajdu, E. & Klautau, M. (2007) Calcareous sponges from Sao Paulo state, Brazil (Porifera: Calcarea: Calcinea) with the description of two new species. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 87, 1553 - 1561. https: // doi. org / 10.1017 / S 0025315407056871","Van Soest, R. W. N. & De Voogd, N. J. (2018) Calcareous sponges of the Western Indian Ocean and Red Sea. Zootaxa, 4426 (1), 1 - 160. https: // doi. org / 10.11646 / zootaxa. 4426.1.1"]}

Leucascus simplex Dendy, 1892 (Fig 7; Table 7) Synonyms. Leucascus simplex, Dendy 1892: 77, Kirk 1897: 313, Dendy 1913: 9, Dendy & Row 1913: 731, Row & Hôzawa 1931: 742, Cavalcanti et al. 2013: 277. Leucetta chagosensis, Hall et al. 2013: 500. Type locality. Port Phillip Heads, Australia Material examined. UFRJPOR 6451 = MNHN-IP- 2018-22 — Tahiti, Society Islands, Station ST12 (17°31.30’ S– 149°33.40’W), depth: 10 m, coll. C. Debitus, 23/III/2009, P2. UFRJPOR 6456 = MNHN-IP- 2018-27 — Hiva Oa, Marquesas Islands, Station MHO05 (9° 42.553’ S– 139° 01.18’ W), depth: 15 m, coll. C. Debitus, 08/IX/2009, P167. Other material. UFRJPOR 6458 = MNHN-IP- 2018-29 — Moorea, Society Islands, Station M01 (17°29.681’ S– 149°51.717’ W), depth: 8 m, coll. C. Debitus, 04/XII/2010, P221. UFRJPOR 8919 = MNHN-IP- 2018-60 — Tahiti, Society Islands, Station ST52 (17°47.147’ S– 149°25.359’ W), depth: 30 m, coll. S. Petek, 21/IV/2013, P480˗ST52. UFRJPOR 8921 = MNHN-IP- 2018-62 — Tahiti, Society Islands, Station ST27 (17°46.642’ S– 149°24.236’ W), depth: 20 m, coll. S. Petek, 12/IV/2013, P480˗ST27. Colour. White alive and beige to light yellow in ethanol (Fig 7A). Morphology and anatomy. Sponge massive, almost spherical. Sometimes there is more than one “sphere” attached to another (Figs 7A, B). Each sphere has an apical osculum sometimes surrounded by membrane. The cormus is formed by regular and tightly anastomosed tubes covered by a continuous, smooth, delicate cortex. The tubes near the surface are more parallel to each other than in the middle of the choanosome. The atrial cavity is large and delimited by endopinacoderm. Aquiferous system solenoid. The skeleton is composed of triactines and tetractines (Fig 7C). Triactines are more abundant than the tetractines. The atrial skeleton is composed of tetractines only. Spicules (Table 7) Triactines. Regular to sagittal. Actines are slightly conical with sharp tips (Fig 7D). Size: 102.5/ 8.7 µm. Tetractines. Regular to sagittal. Actines are slightly conical with sharp tips (Fig 7E). The apical actine is very thin (needle-like), cylindrical and sharp, covered with very short spines (Fig 7F). Size: 96.7/ 8.1 µm (basal actine); 72.8/ 2.7 µm (apical actine). Geographical distribution. Tahiti and Moorea, Society Islands; Hiva Oa, Marquesas Islands. XPirae (Tahiti- ST12). Mataeia (Rautirae. Tahiti-ST27). Mataeia (Aifa. Tahiti-ST52). Opunohu (Moorea). Hanamenu (Hiva Oa). French Polynesia and Marquesas Islands (Hall et al. 2013). Remarks. The specimens from French Polynesia have spicules with sharp tips, while in the holotype they are blunt. Besides, in the holotype the tetractines are rare, while in the specimens from French Polynesia they are abun- dant (although still less abundant than the triactines). The spicules from the french polynesian specimens are also thinner than those of the holotype [Triactines: 83.2–102.9 (±6.7)–114.4/ 11.7–13.3 (±0.9)– 15.9 µm; Tetractines: 72.8–100.1 (±9.2)–117.0/ 10.4–12.1 (±1.0)– 14.3 µm (basal), 26.0–42.3 (±8.8)–65.0/ 2.6–4.0 (±1.0)– 5.2 µm (apical)] (Table 7). In our C-LSU molecular tree L. simplex is sister species of L. flavus., Published as part of Klautau, Michelle, Lopes, Matheus Vieira, Guarabyra, Bruna, Folcher, Eric, Ekins, Merrick & Debitus, Cécile, 2020, Calcareous sponges from the French Polynesia (Porifera: Calcarea), pp. 261-295 in Zootaxa 4748 (2) on pages 277-278, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4748.2.3, http://zenodo.org/record/3698777, {"references":["Dendy, A. (1892) Synopsis of the Australian Calcarea Heterocoela; with a proposed classification of the group and descriptions of some new genera and species. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria, 5, 69 - 116.","Dendy, A. & Row, R. W. H. (1913) The classification and phylogeny of the Calcareous Sponges, with a reference list of all the described species, systematically arranged. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, 1913 (3), 704 - 813. https: // doi. org / 10.1111 / j. 1469 - 7998.1913. tb 06152. x","Row, R. W. H. & Hozawa, S. (1931) Report on the Calcarea obtained by the Hamburg South-West Australian Expedition of 1905. Science Reports of the Tohoku University, Series 4, 6 (1), 727 - 809.","Hall, K. A., Sutcliffe, P. R, Hooper, J. N. A., Alencar, A., Vacelet, J., Pisera, A., Petek, S., Folcher, E., Butscher, J., Orempuller, J., Maihota, N. & Debitus, C. (2013) Affinities of Sponges (Porifera) of the Marquesas and Society Islands, French Polynesia. Pacific Science, 67 (4), 493 - 511. https: // doi. org / 10.2984 / 67.4.1"]}

Clathrina fakaravae sp. nov. (Fig 3, Table 3) Etymology. From the type locality (Fakarava) Type locality. Maruka (Fakarava). Tuheiava (Tikehau). Avatoru (Rangiroa) Tuamotu Islands. French Polynesia. Material examined. Holotype: UFRJPOR 6884 = MNHN-IP- 2018-49 — Rangiroa, Tuamotu Islands, station TRAN05 (14°56.481’ S– 147°51.752’ W), depth: 24 m, coll. E. Folcher, 23/V/2011, P322. Paratype: UFRJPOR 6873 = MNHN-IP- 2018-38 — Fakarava, Tuamotu Islands, Station TFAK08 (16°08.230’ S– 145°49.323’ W), depth: 15 m, coll. A. Renaud, 19/ V /2011, P305˗ TFAK08. Other material: UFRJPOR 6875 = MNHN-IP- 2018-40 — Tikehau, Tuamotu Islands, station TTIK03 (14°59.629’ S– 148°16.922’ W), depth: 40 m, coll. E. Folcher, 29/ V /2011, P305˗ TTIK03. Diagnosis. White Clathrina with large and loosely anastomosed tubes, no water-collecting tubes and three categories of triactines: conical, slightly conical and cylindrical. Colour. White alive and beige to light yellow in ethanol (Fig 3A). Morphology and anatomy. The cormus of this species is formed by large, irregular and loosely anastomosed tubes but in some regions the anastomosis is very tight, giving an appearance of a continuous membrane. Watercollecting tubes were not observed. Aquiferous system asconoid. The skeleton is composed of two categories of triactines, one cylindrical to slightly conical (the most abundant) and the other conical (Fig 3B). Spicules (Table 3) Triactines I. Regular (equiangular and equiradiate). Actines are cylindrical to slightly conical with sharp tips (Fig 3E). Size: 95.7/ 7.2 µm. Triactines II. Regular (equiangular and equiradiate). These spicules are larger. Actines are conical with sharp tips (Fig 3D). Size: 159.8/ 12.3 µm. Geographical distribution. Rangiroa, Tuamotu Islands; Fakarava, Tuamotu Islands; Tikehau, Tuamotu Islands. Remarks. Although the tight anastomosis of the tubes in some parts of the cormus gives the impression of a begining of a continuous membrane formation, there is no cavity (pseudoatrium), therefore, it could not be an Ascaltis. As it seems to us that there is no true continuous membrane, we consider we have a true Clathrina, perhaps with a beginning of cortex formation (cortical membrane). Unfortunately, for this species we were not able to get DNA sequence. Clathrina fakaravae sp. nov. has two categories of triactines (cylindrical to slightly conical and conical) and white cormus formed by irregular and loosely anastomosed tubes without water-collecting tubes, hence, we compared it with: C. rotundata Voigt et al., 2017 and C. zelinhae Azevedo et al., 2017. Clathrina rotundata, however, has also parasagittal triactines and actines with rounded tips, while the new species has always regular spicules with sharp tips. Clathrina zelinhae has tightly anastomosed tubes and the difference between the size of its conical and cylindrical spicules is much larger than in C. fakaravae sp. nov. [C. fakaravae sp. nov. —Triactines with cylindrical actines: 95.7 (±7.2)/ 7.2 (±1.5) µm; Triactines with conical actines: 159.8 (±13.2)/ 12.3 (±1.4) µm; C. zelinhae (holotype)—Triactines with cylindrical actines: 95.8 (±5.4)/ 3.9 (±1.0) µm; Triactines with conical actines: 271.1 (±13.2)/ 20.8 (±2.2) µm]. Therefore, our specimens constitute a new species for science.

Ascandra cf. crewsi Van Soest & De Voogd, 2015 (Fig 2; Table 2) Synonym. Ascandra crewsi, Van Soest & De Voogd 2015: 36. Material examined: UFRJPOR 6462 = MNHN-IP- 2018-33 — Tairineneva, Raiatea, Society Islands, station SR02 (16° 45.326’ S– 151° 29.827’ W), depth: 15 m, coll. C. Debitus, 12/VIII/2009, P53. UFRJPOR 6463 = MNHN- IP- 2018-34, UFRJPOR 6464 = MNHN-IP- 2018-35 — Tahiti, Society Islands, station ST22 (17° 32.485’ S– 149° 35.205’ W), depth: 14 m, coll. C. Debitus, 29/ V /2009, P23. UFRJPOR 8916 = MNHN-IP- 2018-57 — Tahiti, Society Islands, station ST27 (17°46.642’ S– 149°24.236’ W), coll. S. Petek, 13/IV/2013, depth: 30 m, P485. UFRJPOR 8917 = MNHN-IP- 2018-58 — Tahiti, Society Islands, station ST29 (17°53.052’ S– 149°11.411’ W), coll. S. Petek, 14/IV/2013, depth: 20 m, P507. UFRJPOR 8920 = MNHN-IP- 2018-61 — Tahiti, Society Islands, station ST59 (17°47.343’S– 149°27.229’W), coll. C. Debitus, 13/IV/2013, depth: 15 m. Colour. White alive and white or light brown in ethanol (Fig 2A). Morphology and anatomy. Cormus delicate, formed by large, irregular, loosely anastomosed and ramified tubes with one or several oscula at the end of larger tubes (water-collecting tubes; Fig 2A). Aquiferous system asconoid. The skeleton is composed of two size categories of tetractines (Fig 2B), of which the larger is rare, and by small rare triactines. Spicules (Table 2) Tetractines I. Large. Regular (equiangular and equiradiate) or sagittal. Actines are conical with sharp tips (Fig 2C). The sagittal spicules sometimes have curved paired actines. The apical actine is cylindrical, very long, sharp, smooth and frequently curved but straight apical actines are also present (Fig 2C). Size: 162.0–218.7/ 16.2–27.0 µm (basal), 75.0–150.0/ 5.0–15.0 µm (apical). Tetractines II. Small. Regular (equiangular and equiradiate) or sagittal. They are very similar to Tetractines I, but a little smaller and with thinner actines (Fig 2 D). Size: 110.7–178.2/ 10.8–16.2 µm (basal), 17.5–234.9/ 1.3–9.5 µm (apical). Triactines. Rare, small. Regular (equiangular and equiradiate) or sagittal. Actines are conical with sharp tips (Fig 2E). The sagittal spicules sometimes have curved paired actines. Size: 77.5–137.5/ 8.8–10.0 µm. Ecology. This sponge was found in holes or below dead corals, in a slightly muddy environment. Geographical distribution. Papua New Guinea (type locality; Van Soest & De Voogd 2015) and Society Islands (Raiatea and Tahiti—present work). Remarks. Eleven species of Ascandra are currently known: Ascandra falcata Haeckel, 1872 from Lesina, Adriatic Sea (the type species of the genus); A. ascandroides (Borojević, 1971) from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; A. atlantica (Thacker, 1908) from Cape Verde Islands; A. biscayae (Borojević & Boury-Esnault, 1987) from Bay of Biscay; A. brandtae (Rapp, Göcke, Tendal & Janussen, 2013) from the Weddell Sea, Antarctica; A. contorta (Bowerbank, 1866) from the Mediterranean Sea; A. corallicola (Rapp, 2006) Trondheimsfjord, Norway; A. crewsi Van Soest & De Voogd, 2015 from Wahoo, Papua New Guinea; A. densa Haeckel, 1872 from South Australia; A. kakaban Van Soest & De Voogd, 2015 from Kalimantan, Indonesia; and A. minchini Borojević, 1966 from the Mediterranean Sea. Considering cormus and skeleton composition (triactines and two size categories of tetractines), the specimens from the French Polynesia are more similar to A. crewsi and A. kakaban. The latter, however, has the same proportion of triactines and tetractines, while A. crewsi has very few triactines, like our specimens. Therefore, although the spicules of the specimens from French Polynesia are a little larger and have tetractines with actines more conical than those of A. crewsi [A. crewsi —Triactines: 140.0˗150.0/ 10.0˗12.0 µm; Tetractines I: 159.0˗206.4˗246.0/ 15.0˗18.8˗21.0 µm (basal actines), 181.0˗226.3˗279.0/ 13.0˗15.3˗17.0 µm (apical actine); Triactines II: 54.0˗90.2˗117.0/ 7.0˗7.3˗8.0 µm (basal actines), 62.0˗95.8˗114.0/ 2.5˗3.1˗ 3.5 µm (apical actine)], we think they can be conspecific., Published as part of Klautau, Michelle, Lopes, Matheus Vieira, Guarabyra, Bruna, Folcher, Eric, Ekins, Merrick & Debitus, Cécile, 2020, Calcareous sponges from the French Polynesia (Porifera: Calcarea), pp. 261-295 in Zootaxa 4748 (2) on pages 267-269, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4748.2.3, http://zenodo.org/record/3698777, {"references":["Van Soest, R. W. N. & De Voogd, N. J. (2015) Calcareous sponges of Indonesia. Zootaxa, 3951 (1), 1 - 105. https: // doi. org / 10.11646 / zootaxa. 3951.1.1","Haeckel, E. (1872) Die Kalkschwamme, eine Monographie. G. Reimer, Berlin, 512 + 440 + 260 pp. https: // doi. org / 10.5962 / bhl. title. 11323","Borojevic, R. (1971) Eponges calcaires des cotes du Sud-Est du Bresil, epibiontes sur Laminaria brasiliensis et Sargassum cymosum. Revista Brasileira de Biologia, 31, 525 - 530.","Thacker, A. G. (1908) On collections of the Cape Verde Islands fauna made by Cyril Crossland, M. A. The Calcareous sponges. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, 49, 757 - 782.","Borojevic, R. & Boury-Esnault, N. (1987) Revision of the genus Leucilla Haeckel, 1872, with a re-description of the type species- Leucilla amphora Haeckel, 1872. In: Jones, W. C. (Ed.), European contributions to the taxonomy of sponges. Sherkin Island Marine Station, Sherkin Island, County Cork, pp. 29 - 40.","Rapp, H. T., Gocke, C., Tendal, O. S. & Janussen, D. (2013) Two new species of calcareous sponges (Porifera: Calcarea) from the deep Antarctic Eckstrom Shelf and a revised list of species found in Antarctic waters. Zootaxa, 3692 (1), 149 - 159. https: // doi. org / 10.11646 / zootaxa. 3692.1.9","Bowerbank, J. S. (1866) A Monograph of the British Spongiadae. Vol. 2. Ray Society, London, xx + 388 pp. Available from: https: // www. biodiversitylibrary. org / item / 18176 page / 7 / mode / 1 up (accessed 12 January 2020)","Rapp, H. T. (2006). Calcareous sponges of the genera Clathrina and Guancha (Calcinea, Calcarea, Porifera) of Norway (northeast Atlantic) with the description of five new species. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 147 (3), 331 - 365. https: // doi. org / 10.1111 / j. 1096 - 3642.2006.00221. x","Borojevic, R. (1966). Eponges calcaires des cotes de France. II. Le genre Ascandra Haeckel emend. Archives de Zoologie Experimentale et Generale, 107 (2), 357 - 367."]}

Leucetta chagosensis Dendy, 1913 (Fig 8, Table 8) Synonyms. Leucetta chagosensis —Dendy 1913: 10, Dendy & Row 1913: 733, Dendy & Frederick 1924: 482, Burton 1963: 241, Borojević 1967: 2, Pulitzer-Finali 1982: 89, Gosliner et al. 1996: 16, Lévi et al. 1998: 77, Wörheide & Hooper 1999: 882, Borojević & Klautau 2000: 194, Wörheide et al. 2002: 1753, Wörheide et al. 2005: 379, Baine & Harasti, 2007: 15, Wörheide et al. 2008: 1, Voigt et al. 2012a: 101, Van Soest & De Voogd 2015: 51, 2018: 76; L. infrequens— Row & Hôzawa 1931: 747, Burton 1963: 241, Borojević & Klautau 2000: 195; L. expansa— Row & Hôzawa 1931: 749, Burton 1963: 241; Ascoleucetta sagittata Cavalcanti et al. 2013: 308, Van Soest & De Voogd 2015: 49; Leucetta sp.— Colin & Arneson 1995: 60 (photo 230). Material examined. UFRJPOR 6455 = MNHN-IP- 2018-26 — Moorea, Society Island, Station SM01 (17°29.681’ S– 149°51.717’ W), depth: 10 m, coll. C. Debitus, 04/XII/2010, P2- SM01. UFRJPOR 6889 = MNHN-IP- 2018- 54 — Makemo, Tuamotu Islands, Station TMAK06 (16°28.120’ S– 143°57.200’ W), depth: 18 m, coll. B. Bourgeois, 10/ V /2011, P266. UFRJPOR 6871 = MNHN-IP- 2018-36 — Fakarava, Tuamotu Islands, Station TFAK04 (16°05.231’ S– 145°44.127’ W), depth: 50 m, coll. B. Bourgois, 18/ V /2011. UFRJPOR 6874 = MNHN-IP- 2018- 39 — Rangiroa, Tuamotu Islands, Station TRAN04 (15°05.314’ S– 147°56.531’W), depth: 30 m, coll. E. Folcher, 23/ V /2011. UFRJPOR 6876 = MNHN-IP- 2018-41 — Fakarava, Tuamotu Islands, Station TFAK02 (16°04.900’ S– 145°41.497’ W), depth: 15m, coll. S. Petek, 17/ V /2011. UFRJPOR 6878 = MNHN-IP- 2018-43 — Rangiroa, Tuamotu Islands, Station TRAN01 (15° 13.359° S– 147°14.832’ W), depth: 40 m, coll. B. Bourgeois, 22/ V /2011. UFRJPOR 6882 = MNHN-IP- 2018-47 — Toau, Tuamotu Islands, Station TTOA03 (15°47.480’ S– 145°55.120’ W), depth: 18 m, coll. A. Renaud, 21/ V /2011. UFRJPOR 6885 = MNHN-IP- 2018-50 — Tetiaroa, Society Islands, Station STET01 (17°02.258 S– 149°33.707 W), depth: 40 m, coll. A. Renaud, 31/ V /2011, P266˗ STET01. UFR- JPOR 8955 = MNHN-IP- 2018-64 — Makemo, Tuamotu Islands, Station TMAK11 (16°38.485’ S– 143°387.934’ W), depth: 30 m, coll. M. Dumas, 08/XI/2018, P669- TMAK11. UFRJPOR 8956 = MNHN-IP- 2018-65 — Makemo, Tuamotu Islands, Station TMAK11 (16°38.485’ S– 143°38.934’ W), depth: 20 m, coll. S. Petek, 08/XI/2018, P670- TMAK11. UFRJPOR 8958 = MNHN-IP- 2018-67 — Rangiroa, Tuamotu Islands, Station TRAN06 (14° 55.927° S– 147°43.329’ W), depth: 30 m coll. M. Dumas, 13/XI/2018, P669- TRAN06. UFRJPOR 8959 = MNHN-IP- 2018-68 — Rangiroa, Tuamotu Islands, Station TRAN18 (14° 55.841° S– 147°44.019’ W), depth: 15 m, coll. M. Dumas, 11/XI/2018, P669- TRAN18. UFRJPOR 8960 = MNHN-IP- 2018-69 — Rangiroa, Tuamotu Islands, Station TRAN18 (14° 55.841° S– 147°44.019’ W), depth: 15 m, coll. M. Dumas, 11/XI/2018, P670- TRAN18. Comparative material. BMNH 1920.12.9.51 (holotype). Colour. Yellow alive, beige in ethanol (Fig 8A). Morphology and anatomy. Sponge massive, spherical to sub-spherical, covered by a smooth cortex. Apical osculum surrounded by membrane (Fig 8A). Hard and friable. There are subcortical inhalant cavities and the canals are disposed in parallel, giving a radial organisation to the choanosome. Large exhalant canals arrive into the atrium, giving it a reticulated appearance. Aquiferous system leuconoid. The skeleton is composed of giant triactines, present mainly on the cortex, and small triactines and tetractines (Fig 8B). The small triactines are present on the cortex and choanosome, while the small tetractines, which are few, are found only in the choanosome, mainly in the exhalant canals. Spicules (Table 8) Giant triactines. Regular. Actines are conical with sharp tips (Fig 8E). Variable sizes. Size: 523.0/ 40.0 µm. Triactines. Regular to subregular. Actines are conical with sharp tips but some few spicules have cylindrical actines. The apical actine of the tetractines is conical and sharp (Fig 8F, I). Size: 139.1/ 13.6 µm. Tetractines. Regular to subregular. They are very few. Actines are conical with sharp tips but some have cylindrical actines. The apical actine is conical, sharp, smooth and curve (Fig 8G). Size: 107.8/ 10.0 µm (basal actine); 32.0/ 5.2 µm (apical actine; Fig 8H). Geographical distribution. Indian Ocean—Chagos Archipelago (Dendy 1913), Abrolhos Islands (Dendy & Frederick 1924), Red Sea and Maldives (Wörheide et al. 2008, Voigt et al. 2012a); Western Pacific Ocean—Indonesia, Philippines, Japan, Western Australia, French Polynesia, and Samoa (Wörheide & Hooper 1999, Wörheide et al. 2002, 2005, 2008, Voigt et al. 2012a), New Caledonia (Borojević 1967, Lévi et al. 1998, Borojević & Klautau 2000). Remarks. Leucetta chagosensis is a species originally described from Chagos Archipelago (Indian Ocean). Although in the original description Dendy (1913) had mentioned only the presence of large and small triactines, we found few tetractines in the holotype (Table 8) and these spicules are being observed in all specimens identified as L. chagosensis. This species is considered to be widespread in the Indo-Pacific where it is characterised by its bright yellow colour when alive, lobose habitus, large triactines and small triactines and tetractines, the latter being rare. It is possible that L. chagosensis represents a species complex (Wörheide et al. 2002, 2005, 2008; Voigt et al. 2012a), however, as this putative species complex has not been solved yet, we call our specimens L. chagosensis., Published as part of Klautau, Michelle, Lopes, Matheus Vieira, Guarabyra, Bruna, Folcher, Eric, Ekins, Merrick & Debitus, Cécile, 2020, Calcareous sponges from the French Polynesia (Porifera: Calcarea), pp. 261-295 in Zootaxa 4748 (2) on pages 279-281, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4748.2.3, http://zenodo.org/record/3698777, {"references":["Dendy, A. & Row, R. W. H. (1913) The classification and phylogeny of the Calcareous Sponges, with a reference list of all the described species, systematically arranged. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, 1913 (3), 704 - 813. https: // doi. org / 10.1111 / j. 1469 - 7998.1913. tb 06152. x","Dendy, A. & Frederick, L. M. (1924) On a collection of sponges from the Abrolhos Islands, Western Australia. Journal of the Linnean Society of London, Zoology, 16, 1 - 29. https: // doi. org / 10.1111 / j. 1096 - 3642.1924. tb 00052. x","Burton, M. (1963) Revision of the classification of the calcareous sponges. British Museum (Natural History), London, 693 pp","Borojevic, R. (1967) Spongiaires d'Afrique du Sud. (2) Calcarea. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa, 37 (3), 183 - 226. https: // doi. org / 10.1080 / 00359196709519066","Pulitzer-Finali, G. (1982 [1980 - 1981]) Some new or little-known sponges from the Great Barrier Reef of Australia. Bollettino dei Musei e degli Istituti Biologici dell'Universita di Genova, 48 - 49, 87 - 141.","Gosliner, T. M., Behrens, D. W & Williams, G. C. (1996) Coral reef animals of the Indo-Pacific: animal life from Africa to Hawaii exclusive of the vertebrates. Sea Challengers, Monterey, 314 pp.","Levi, C., Laboute, P., Bargibant, G. & Menou, J. L. (Eds.) (1998) Sponges of the New Caledonian Lagoon. Editions ORSTOM, Paris, 211 pp.","Worheide, G. & Hooper, J. N. A. (1999) Calcarea from the Great Barrier Reef. 1: Cryptic Calcinea from Heron Island and Wistari Reef (Capricorn-Bunker Group). Memoirs of the Queensland Museum, 43, 859 - 891.","Borojevic, R. & Klautau, M. (2000) Calcareous sponges from New Caledonia. Zoosystema, 22 (2), 187 - 201.","Worheide, G., Hooper, J. N. A. & Degnan, B. M. (2002) Phylogeography of Western Pacific Leucetta ' chagosensis' (Porifera: Calcarea) from ribosomal DNA sequences: implications for population history and conservation of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area (Australia). Molecular Ecology, 11, 1753 - 1768. https: // doi. org / 10.1046 / j. 1365 - 294 X. 2002.01570. x","Worheide, G., Sole-Cava, A. M. & Hooper, J. N. A. (2005) Biodiversity, molecular ecology and phylogeography of marine sponges: patterns, implications and outlooks. Integrative and Comparative Biology, 45, 377 - 385. https: // doi. org / 10.1093 / icb / 45.2.377","Baine, M. & Harasti, D. (2007) The marine life of Bootless Bay, Papua New Guinea. Motupore Island Research Centre, Papua New Guinea, pp. 1 - 144.","Worheide, G., Epp, L. S. & Macis, L. (2008) Deep genetic divergences among Indo-Pacific populations of the coral reef sponge Leucetta chagosensis (Leucettidae): Founder effects, vicariance, or both? BMC Evolutionary Biology, 8, 24. https: // doi. org / 10.1186 / 1471 - 2148 - 8 - 24","Voigt, O., Wulfingl, E. & Worheide, G. (2012 a) Molecular Phylogenetic Evaluation of Classification and Scenarios of Character Evolution in Calcareous Sponges (Porifera, Class Calcarea). PLoS ONE, 7, e 33417. https: // doi. org / 10.1371 / journal. pone. 0033417","Van Soest, R. W. N. & De Voogd, N. J. (2015) Calcareous sponges of Indonesia. Zootaxa, 3951 (1), 1 - 105. https: // doi. org / 10.11646 / zootaxa. 3951.1.1","Van Soest, R. W. N. & De Voogd, N. J. (2018) Calcareous sponges of the Western Indian Ocean and Red Sea. Zootaxa, 4426 (1), 1 - 160. https: // doi. org / 10.11646 / zootaxa. 4426.1.1","Row, R. W. H. & Hozawa, S. (1931) Report on the Calcarea obtained by the Hamburg South-West Australian Expedition of 1905. Science Reports of the Tohoku University, Series 4, 6 (1), 727 - 809.","Colin, P. L. & Arneson, C. (1995) Tropical Pacific Invertebrates. A field guide to the Marine Invertebrates occurring on Tropical Pacific Coral Reefs, Seagrass Beds and Mangroves. Coral Reef Press, Irvine, pp. 1 - 296."]}

Leucetta microraphis Haeckel, 1872 (Fig 9, Table 9) Synonyms. Dyssycus primigenius, Lipostomella primigenia, Amphoriscus primigenius, Coenostomus primigenius, Artynas primigenius, Aphroceras primigenium, Leucometra primigenia— Haeckel 1872: 118; Leucetta primigenia var. microraphis— Haeckel 1872: 118, Ridley 1884: 482; Leucetta microraphis — Von Lendenfeld 1885: 1117, Dendy & Row 1913: 734, Dendy & Frederick 1924: 482, Row & Hôzawa 1931: 746, Tanita 1942: 111, Burton 1963: 270, Borojević 1967: 3, Borojević & Peixinho 1976: 1003, Pulitzer-Finali 1982: 87 (Pericharax orientalis according to Wörheide & Hooper 1999), Borojević & Klautau, 2000: 193, Wörheide & Hooper 1999: 879, Van Soest & De Voogd 2015: 54, 2018: 80; Leucandra primigenia var. microraphis— Row 1909: 186; Leucandra microraphis— Dendy 1892: 104; Leuconia dura— Poléjaeff 1883: 65, Lendenfeld 1885: 1118, Dendy 1892: 104; Leucaltis floridana var. australiensis— Carter 1886: 145; Leucandra carteri Dendy 1892: 103; Leucetta carteri— Dendy & Row 1913: 734, Burton 1963: 241, Borojević 1967: 5; Leucetta primigenia— Colin & Arneson 1995: 60 (photo 229); Gosliner et al. 1996: 16 (photo 4), Erhardt & Baensch 1998: 22 apud Van Soest & De Voogd 2015. The same authors mentioned that the specimens identified by Breitfuss (1896, 1898) as Leucetta solida were probably L. microraphis. Material examined. UFRJPOR 6450 = MNHN-IP- 2018-21 — Bora Bora, Society Island (Leeward), ST SBB1 (16° 28.773’ S– 151° 41.287’ W), depth: 15 m, coll. J. Orempuller, 09/VIII/2009, P29. UFRJPOR 6452 = MNHN- IP- 2018-23 ˗ Tahiti Island (17° 32.140’ S– 149° 35.449’ W), depth: 25 m, coll. C. Debitus, 28/ V /2009, P19, ST21. UFRJPOR 6453 = MNHN-IP- 2018-24 — Tahiti, Society Islands, ST2 (17° 31.225’ S– 149° 33.220’ W), depth: 14 m, coll. C. Debitus, 24/III/2009, P8˗ST2. UFRJPOR 6457 = MNHN-IP- 2018-28 — Moorea, Society Islands, Station SM01 (17°29.681’ S– 149°51.717’ W), depth: 14 m, C. Debitus, 04/XII/2010, P8˗ SM01. UFRJPOR 6459 = MNHN-IP- 2018-30 — Raiatea, Society Island, Station SR10 (16° 49.873’ S– 151° 20.825’ W), depth: 40 m, coll. C. Debitus, 16/VIII/2010, P64. UFRJPOR 6881 = MNHN-IP- 2018-46 — Tetiaroa, Society Islands, Station STET01 (17°02.258 S– 149°33.707 W), depth: 35 m, coll. E. Folcher, 31/ V /2011, P348˗ STET01. UFRJPOR 6888 = MNHN-IP- 2018-53 — Tetiaroa, Society Islands, Station STET03 (16°58.916 S– 149°34.559 W), depth: 40 m, coll. D. Fleurisson, 01/ VI /2011, P348˗ STET03. UFRJPOR 8961 — Tetiaroa, Society Islands, Station TTET02 (16°59.967S– 149°35.440W), depth: 28 m, coll. M. Dumas, 21/XI/2018, P678˗ TTET02. Colour. White to light blue or violet alive (Fig 9A) and beige to light brown in ethanol (Fig 9B). Morphology and anatomy. This species is massive, hard and friable. It is harsh to the touch and has an amorphous shape (Figs 9A, B). It has several apical oscula, surrounded by membrane, and large atrium. The canals are visible through the cortex, giving an anastomosed appearance to the sponge. Aquiferous system leuconoid (Fig 9C). The specimen UFRJPOR 6450 has embryos. The skeleton is composed of giant triactines present in the cortex (Fig 9D) and choanosome and small triactines and tetractines (Fig 9E). The small triactines are present in the cortex and choanosome, while the small tetractines are found only in the choanosome. The tetractines are very few and they are present only surrounding the canals. Spicules (Table 9) Giant triactines. Regular (equiangular and equiradiate) and subregular (not equiradiate). Actines are conical with sharp tips (Fig 9F). Variable sizes. Size: 1108.3/ 137.5 µm. Triactines. Regular to sagittal. Actines are conical with blunt tips (Fig 9G) but some triactines with cylindrical actines were also observed (Fig 9I). Size: 145.4/ 15.0 µm. Tetractines. Regular to sagittal.Actines are conical with blunt tips (Fig 9H) but some tetractines have also cylindrical actines (Fig 9J). The apical actine is very thin, conical, sharp, and smooth (Fig 9K). Sometimes it is undulated Size: 136.3/ 10.4 µm (basal actine); 30.8/ 5.9 µm (apical actine). Geographical distribution. Indo-Pacific (Poléjaeff 1883, Ridley 1884, Von Lendenfeld 1885, Carter 1886, Dendy 1892, Row 1909, Dendy & Frederick 1924, Row & Hôzawa 1931, Colin & Arneson 1995, Gosliner et al. 1996, Erhardt & Baensch 1998, Wörheide & Hooper 1999, Borojević & Klautau 2000, Van Soest & De Voogd 2015, 2018). Remarks. Leucetta microraphis is a widespread species with conserved skeleton but variable habitus. As these variable habitus have been considered only polymorphism (except for L. sulcata Van Soest & De Voogd, 2018, see Discussion), we identified our specimens as L. microraphis, however, it is possible that we have a new species of Leucetta in French Polynesia. We discuss this subject in more detail at the end of the paper., Published as part of Klautau, Michelle, Lopes, Matheus Vieira, Guarabyra, Bruna, Folcher, Eric, Ekins, Merrick & Debitus, Cécile, 2020, Calcareous sponges from the French Polynesia (Porifera: Calcarea), pp. 261-295 in Zootaxa 4748 (2) on pages 281-283, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4748.2.3, http://zenodo.org/record/3698777, {"references":["Haeckel, E. (1872) Die Kalkschwamme, eine Monographie. G. Reimer, Berlin, 512 + 440 + 260 pp. https: // doi. org / 10.5962 / bhl. title. 11323","Ridley, S. O. (1884) Spongiida. In: Report on the Zoological Collections made in the Indo-Pacific Ocean during the Voyage of H. M. S. ' Alert', 1881 - 2. British Museum (Natural History), London), pp. 366 - 482 + 582 - 630.","Von Lendenfeld, R. (1885) A Monograph of the Australian Sponges (Continued). Part III. Preliminary description and classification of the Australian Calcispongiae. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, 9, 1083 - 1150.","Dendy, A. & Row, R. W. H. (1913) The classification and phylogeny of the Calcareous Sponges, with a reference list of all the described species, systematically arranged. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, 1913 (3), 704 - 813. https: // doi. org / 10.1111 / j. 1469 - 7998.1913. tb 06152. x","Dendy, A. & Frederick, L. M. (1924) On a collection of sponges from the Abrolhos Islands, Western Australia. Journal of the Linnean Society of London, Zoology, 16, 1 - 29. https: // doi. org / 10.1111 / j. 1096 - 3642.1924. tb 00052. x","Row, R. W. H. & Hozawa, S. (1931) Report on the Calcarea obtained by the Hamburg South-West Australian Expedition of 1905. Science Reports of the Tohoku University, Series 4, 6 (1), 727 - 809.","Tanita, S. (1942) Report on the Calcareous sponges obtained by the Zoological Institute and Museum of Hamburg. Part II. Science Reports of the Tohoku University, Series 4, 17 (2), 105 - 135.","Burton, M. (1963) Revision of the classification of the calcareous sponges. British Museum (Natural History), London, 693 pp","Borojevic, R. (1967) Spongiaires d'Afrique du Sud. (2) Calcarea. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa, 37 (3), 183 - 226. https: // doi. org / 10.1080 / 00359196709519066","Borojevic, R. & Peixinho, S. (1976) Eponges calcaires des cotes nord et nord-est du Bresil. Bulletin du Museum d'histoire Naturelle de Paris, 402, 987 - 1036.","Pulitzer-Finali, G. (1982 [1980 - 1981]) Some new or little-known sponges from the Great Barrier Reef of Australia. Bollettino dei Musei e degli Istituti Biologici dell'Universita di Genova, 48 - 49, 87 - 141.","Worheide, G. & Hooper, J. N. A. (1999) Calcarea from the Great Barrier Reef. 1: Cryptic Calcinea from Heron Island and Wistari Reef (Capricorn-Bunker Group). Memoirs of the Queensland Museum, 43, 859 - 891.","Borojevic, R. & Klautau, M. (2000) Calcareous sponges from New Caledonia. Zoosystema, 22 (2), 187 - 201.","Van Soest, R. W. N. & De Voogd, N. J. (2015) Calcareous sponges of Indonesia. Zootaxa, 3951 (1), 1 - 105. https: // doi. org / 10.11646 / zootaxa. 3951.1.1","Van Soest, R. W. N. & De Voogd, N. J. (2018) Calcareous sponges of the Western Indian Ocean and Red Sea. Zootaxa, 4426 (1), 1 - 160. https: // doi. org / 10.11646 / zootaxa. 4426.1.1","Row, R. W. H. (1909) Reports on the marine biology of the Sudanese Red Sea. XIII. Report on the Sponges, collected by Mr. Cyril Crossland in 1904 - 5. Part I. Calcarea. Journal of the Linnean Society. Zoology, 31 (206), 182 - 214. [https: // academic. oup. com / zoolinnean / article / 31 / 206 / 182 / 2682838] https: // doi. org / 10.1111 / j. 1096 - 3642.1909. tb 00983. x","Dendy, A. (1892) Synopsis of the Australian Calcarea Heterocoela; with a proposed classification of the group and descriptions of some new genera and species. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria, 5, 69 - 116.","Polejaeff, N. (1883) Report on the Calcarea dredged by H. M. S. ' Challenger', during the years 1873 - 1876. Report on the Scientific Results of the Voyage of H. M. S. ' Challenger', 1873 - 1876, Zoology, 8 (2), 1 - 76.","Carter, H. J. (1886) Descriptions of the sponges from the neighbourhood of Port Philip Heads, South Australia. Annals and Magazine of Natural History, 15 - 18, 431 - 441. https: // doi. org / 10.1080 / 00222938609460169","Colin, P. L. & Arneson, C. (1995) Tropical Pacific Invertebrates. A field guide to the Marine Invertebrates occurring on Tropical Pacific Coral Reefs, Seagrass Beds and Mangroves. Coral Reef Press, Irvine, pp. 1 - 296.","Gosliner, T. M., Behrens, D. W & Williams, G. C. (1996) Coral reef animals of the Indo-Pacific: animal life from Africa to Hawaii exclusive of the vertebrates. Sea Challengers, Monterey, 314 pp.","Erhardt, H. & Baensch, H. A. (1998) Meerwasser Atlas 4. Wirbellose. Mergus Verlag, Melle, 1214 pp.","Breitfuss, L. L. (1896) Kalkschwamme von Ternate Molukken), nach den Sammlungen Prf. W. Kukenthal's (Vorlaufige Mittheilung). Zoologischer Anzeiger, 19, 433 - 435.","Breitfuss, L. L. (1898) Kalkschwamme von Ternate. Abhandlungen der Senckenbergischen Naturforschender Gesellschaft, 24, 169 - 178."]}

WOS:000518678100003; Although the French Polynesian reefs are among the most well studied reefs of the world, sponges are still poorly known, with only 199 species or OTUs of sponges having been described from French Polynesia, 167 at an OTU level and 32 at a species level. From those 199 species, just five are calcareous sponges. As it is possible that this number is underestimated, the aim of the present work was to study the diversity of calcareous sponges from French Polynesia. Hence, different French Polynesian archipelagos were surveyed by SCUBA from 3 to 60 m of depth. Identifications were performed using morphological and molecular (ITS and C-LSU) tools. We found a total of nine species of Calcarea, comprising five different genera. Five species are new to science: Clathrina fakaravae sp. nov., Clathrina huahineae sp. nov., Ernstia variabilis sp. nov., Leucascus digitiformis sp. nov., and Leucandra tahuatae sp. nov. With the present work, the number of identified sponges from French Polynesia at a species level increased from 32 to 41. The only calcareous sponge previously known from French Polynesia that was recollected by our group was Leucetta chagosensis. Our results suggest that the Eastern Indo-Pacific Realm shows more affinity with the Central and the Western Indo-Pacific Realms Four species supported these affinities: Ascandra cf. crewsi, previously known only from Papua New Guinea, Leucascus simplex from South Australia, and Leucetta chagosensis and L. microraphis, both widespread species in the Indo-Pacific. These two Leucetta species, however, most likely represent species complexes. Once again the molecular markers ITS and C-LSU helped in the identification of calcareous sponges, showing how important is an integrative taxonomy. Although our work has increased in 250% (6 spp to 15 spp) the diversity of calcareous sponges in French Polynesia, it is most possible that this number is still underestimated.

Sanamyan, Karen, Sanamyan, Nadya, Martynov, Alexander, Korshunova, Tatiana (2019): A new species of Ernstia (Porifera: Calcarea) described from marine aquarium. Zootaxa 4603 (1): 192-200, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4603.1.11

Ernstia pyrum sp. nov. (Figures 1–3, Table 2) urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: 1B70AF30-D9DB-42CF-98AE-173D1D0776C4 Material examined. Holotype: ZIN 11879, marine aquarium, on “live stones” imported from Indonesia (more accurate location is not available), 17 January 2019. Paratypes: ZIN 11880, same data, 1 specimen; ZMMU G-259, same data, 1 specimen; ZIN 11881, same data, 24 specimens. Etymology. The specific epithet pyrum (pear in Latin) refers to the shape of most specimens of this sponge. General morphology. The cormus is yellow, oval, pear-shaped or, occasionally somewhat less regular compact mass made up of tightly anastomosed thin tubuli (Fig. 1A, B). It is attached to the substratum by a wider basal part or by a side, usually upright. The consistence is not especially soft, compressible. Overall size is up to 2 cm in its greatest dimension, but usually smaller, most specimens 10–12 mm in height and 5–8 mm in diameter. All tubuli are of about the same diameter (0.2–0.3 mm), no water collecting tubes are recognizable on the surface or in the sections. Usually one terminal osculum is present, up to 6 mm long and 2–3 mm in diameter, rarely several oscular tubes are developed. There is a rather voluminous atrial cavity delimited by clear atrial membrane without choanocytes (Fig. 1A, C). No cells with granules are present. Skeleton. The skeleton has no special organization and is composed of triactines, tetractines and often, but not always, trichoxeas. Trichoxeas are present only on the surface, some of them protrude perpendicularly or obliquely to the surface of the sponge but most are parallel to it (Fig. 2C). The walls of the tubuli are built by a few layers of triactines and tetractines. The apical actines of the tetractines protrude into the tubule lumen (Fig. 2D). Triactines are the most numerous spicules, the ratio of triactines to tetractines on the surface and internal layers (choanosome) is rather stable and varied from 5:1 to 5.7: 1 in several measured specimens. Tetractines occur in somewhat higher frequency in the wall of the atrial cavity but still are two times less numerous here than the triactines. The size of triactines and tetractines differs in different regions of the sponge: the spicules in the wall of the atrial cavity and, especially, in the oscular membrane and are noticeably larger than the spicules in the other parts of the body. Spicules (Table 2, Fig. 2). Triactines. Equiangular and mostly equiradiate. They possibly may be divided into two categories: the spicules with the short and wide conical actines and sharp tips, and the spicules with the long narrow cylindrical, sometimes slightly undulating actines and usually blunt tips. However there are all transitions between these extremities and we failed to delimit these categories clearly either by size or by the shape (Fig. 2A) and measured them together as a single category. Tetractines. Similar to the triactines and show the same size and shape variations. Apical actine is needle-like, smooth, long (80–120 µm), thin, straight and sharp. Trichoxeas. Thin, long and straight. Habitat. Numerous specimens of this species were found on so called “live stones” (lime stones consisting mostly of dead parts of stony corals collected at coral reefs), imported from Indonesia for marine aquarium trade. They rapidly proliferate in the so called “reef aquarium” with stony corals and marine fishes at the conditions required to maintain stony corals: water temperature 25–27ºC, salinity 35‰, low level of inorganic nutrients (concentration of inorganic nitrate is about 2 ppm, inorganic phosphate less than 0.05 ppm). These sponges prefer dim places but may occur on well-lit areas too. Type locality. Article 76.1.1. of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN, 1999) says for the species based on the specimens transported by humans: “the type locality is the place from which the name-bearing type [...] began its unnatural journey”. The type locality for Ernstia pyrum sp. nov. is therefore assigned to Indonesia from where the “living stones” with this species were imported. Remarks. Molecular sequence data render this species as belonging to the genus Ernstia and being closely related to E. citrea Azevedo, Padua, Moraes, Rossi, Muricy & Klautau, 2017 described from Rocas Atoll, Brazil (Fig. 3). Indeed, in life these two species appear to be very similar, both have compact yellow cormus composed of tightly anastomosed tubuli and a long terminal osculum (see Azevedo et al. 2017, Figure 16E). As perceived from the published photographs (Azevedo et al. 2017, Figures 10A, B and 16E), E. citrea has less tightly anastomosed tubuli forming larger meshes on the surface of the sponge than in E. pyrum sp. nov. The diameter of the tubuli in E. citrea is said to be 3 mm, but according to scale bars on the above mentioned photographs this is an obvious mistype, probably should be 0.3 mm i.e. about the same as in E. pyrum sp. nov. The triactines and tetractines of E. pyrum sp. nov. show significantly greater range of size variations (38–185 µm) than those of E. citrea (67–108 µm). Further, the spicules with long cylindrical actines, occurring in the oscular and atrial wall of E. pyrum sp. nov., are not reported for E. citrea. Other similar yellow Ernstia species with tightly anastomosed tubuli are E. arabica Voigt, Erpenbeck & Wörheide, 2017 from the Red Sea, E. solaris Azevedo, Padua, Moraes, Rossi, Muricy & Klautau, 2017 from the SW Atlantic off Brazil, and E. klautauae Van Soest & De Voogd, 2015 from Indonesia. According to molecular data they all group together but are less related to E. pyrum sp. nov. than E. citrea (Fig. 3). Morphological differences are as follows: E. solaris has smaller and significantly less variable spicules than E. pyrum sp. nov., triactines and tetractines are in almost the same proportion (Azevedo et al. 2017); E. arabica and E. klautauae have tri- and tetractines with conical actines, no spicules with long cylindrical actines are mentioned, tetractines either dominate or are in the same proportion as triactines (Voigt et al. 2017; Van Soest & De Voogd 2015; 2018).

Genus Clathrina Gray, 1867 Diagnosis. "Calcinea in which the cormus comprises anastomosed tubes. A stalk may be present. The skeleton contains regular (equiangular and equiradiate) and/or parasagittal triactines, to which diactines and tripods may be added. Asconoid aquiferous system" (Klautau et al. 2013)., Published as part of Lopes, Matheus V., Padua, Andr��, C��ndor-Luj��n, B��slavi & Klautau, Michelle, 2018, Calcareous sponges (Porifera, Calcarea) from Florida: new species, new records and biogeographical affinities, pp. 127-150 in Zootaxa 4526 (2) on page 131, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4526.2.2, http://zenodo.org/record/2611472, {"references":["Gray, J. E. (1867) Notes on the arrangement of sponges, with the description of some new genera. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, 2, 492 - 558.","Klautau, M., Azevedo, F., Condor-Lujan, B., Rapp, H. T., Collins, A. & Russo, C. A. M. (2013) A molecular phylogeny for the Order Clathrinida rekindles and refines Haeckel's taxonomic proposal for calcareous sponges. Integrative and Comparative Biology, 53 (3), 447 - 461. https: // doi. org / 10.1093 / icb / ict 039"]}

Florida is among important marine biodiversity areas with high richness and endemism of marine taxa. Despite the economic and scientific importance of the region, knowledge on the diversity and distribution of some groups, such as calcareous sponges, is still reduced and scattered in old literature. In the present work, sponges collected in the Florida Keys were studied under an integrative perspective (traditional morphology and DNA: ITS). Three calcinean species were found: Clathrina smaragda sp. nov., C. lutea, and Ernstia rocasensis. Clathrina smaragda sp. nov. is the first Clathrina described with a green cormus. The occurrence of C. lutea in Florida was confirmed, and E. rocasensis had its geographical distribution widened from the Northeastern Brazilian waters to Florida, although Floridian individuals of this species have presented differences in morphological characters that resulted in the proposition of a new diagnosis and a discussion on morphological plasticity in Clathrinidae. A complete list of the calcareous sponges from Florida is presented and their distributional patterns are discussed.

Clathrina smaragda sp. nov. (Fig 3; Table 3) Diagnosis. Clathrina with green cormus formed by loosely and irregularly anastomosed tubes and two categories of triactines: regular and parasagittal. Material examined. Holotype: UFRJPOR 8359, Looe Key, Florida, United States of America (24°32’51 N, 81°24’24 W), 10–15 m of depth, coll. A. Padua & M. C. Díaz, 12 August 2015. ETYMOLOGY. From the Latin smaragdus (= emerald) for its dark green colour. Colour. Dark green when alive (Fig 3A) and light green after fixation (Fig 3B). Morphology. Cormus encrusting, formed by loose and irregularly anastomosed tubes. The tubes are large (reaching 0.7 mm of diameter), bright and rigid probably due to the presence of thicker spicules in the external surface. There are no water-collecting tubes (Figs 3A, B). The single specimen collected is small and measured 4.5 x 5.0 x 1.0 mm. The aquiferous system is asconoid. No granular cells were observed. The skeleton has no special organisation. It is composed mainly of parasagittal triactines, and few regular (tripod-like) triactines located on the surface of the tubes (Figs 3 C–F). These tripod-like spicules are probably responsible for the rigid consistency of the tubes. Spicules (Figs 3D, E, Table 3). Triactines I (Fig 3D): Parasagittal (equiangular, but with the unpaired actine longer than the paired ones). Actines are cylindrical to slightly conical with blunt to sharp tips. Triactines II (Fig 3E): Regular (equiangular and equiradiate). Actines are conical with blunt to sharp tips. Ecology. The single specimen was found between 10 to 15 m of depth. It was attached to a coral fragment, protected from the sunlight. No associated organisms were found. Distribution. Provisionally endemic to Looe Key, Florida, United States of America. Remarks. This is the first species of the genus Clathrina to be green. It is also one of the six known species of Clathrina without a peduncle but with parasagittal spicules composing the skeleton: C. broendstedi Rapp et al., 2011, C. curacaoensis Cóndor-Luján et al., 2018, C. rotundata Voigt et al., 2017, C. rowi Voigt et al., 2017, and C. sororcula Van Soest & De Voogd, 2015. Besides the green colour, C. smaragda sp. nov. can be distinguished from all those other species of Clathrina based on the proportion of parasagittal spicules. In C. smaragda sp. nov., parasagittal spicules (triactines I) are more frequent than the regular ones (triactines II), while in the other species, they occur mainly as a variation of the regular triactines, being rare or less frequent. In our molecular results, C. smaragda sp. nov. formed a clade together with C. curacaoensis with 91% bootstrap and a p-distance of 1.3%. They can be morphologically differentiated from each other by the frequency and location of the parasagittal spicules. In C. smaragda sp. nov., parasagittal spicules are the most abundant spicules and are present in the entire cormus, while in C. curacaoensis they are not abundant and are present only in the tubes that attach the sponge to the substrate. Moreover, the regular triactines differ in size: in C. curacaoensis, they range from 87.5 to 130.0 µm, while in C. smaragda sp. nov. they are smaller (67.5 to 86.4 µm).

Clathrina lutea Azevedo et al., 2017 (Fig 2; Table 2) Synonyms. Clathrina primordialis��� Lehnert & Van Soest 1998: 99, Fig. 23. Leucetta sp. ��� Moraes et al. 2003: 17. Clathrina sp. nov. 2 ��� Moraes et al. 2006: 166. Clathrina sp. 1 ��� Rossi et al. 2011: 1028. Clathrina sp. nov. 8 ��� Klautau et al. 2013: 449. Clathrina lutea��� Azevedo et al. 2017: 318, C��ndor-Luj��n et al. 2018: 21. Diagnosis. Clathrina with yellow cormus formed by tight and regularly anastomosed tubes, and with water collecting tubes with large oscula. Triactines have slightly conical actines with blunt tips (Azevedo et al. 2017). Material examined. UFRJPOR 8358, UFRJPOR 8372, Looe Key, Florida, United States of America (24��32���51 N, 81��24���24 W), 10���15 m of depth, coll. A. Padua & M. C. D��az, 12 August 2015. Material used for comparison. UFRJPOR 5173 (Holotype), Pedra Lixa reef, Abrolhos Archipelago, 7 m of depth, coll. C. Zilberberg & L. Monteiro, 21 March 2005. UFRJPOR 5172, UFRJPOR 5174 (Paratypes), same information as the holotype. MNRJ 2930, Barreta Falsa, Rocas Atoll, 3 m of depth, coll. F. Moraes, 22 November 1999. Colour. Bright yellow when alive and light beige after fixation (Fig 2A). Morphology. The cormus is massive and firm. It is composed of thin, regular and tightly anastomosed tubes, forming a reticulated surface, with multiple conspicuous oscula where water-collecting tubes arrive. The largest specimen (UFRJPOR 8358) was 2.5 x 2.3 x 0.5 cm and the smallest (UFRJPOR 8372) 1.0 x 1.6 x 0.9 cm. The aquiferous system is asconoid. No granular cells were observed. The skeleton is composed of only one category of regular triactines without organisation (Fig 2B). Spicules (Fig 2, Table 2). Triactines (Fig 2C): Regular (equiangular and equiradiate). Actines are slightly conical with blunt tips. Size: 83.1 to 104.5/ 7.1 to 9.1 ��m (Table 2). Ecology. Specimens described in the present work were found between 10 and 15 m of depth. They were both collected in a burrow, one specimen was on the ceiling. No associated organisms were observed among the analysed specimens. Distribution. Clathrina lutea has a wide distribution in the Western Atlantic Ocean, ranging from Florida down to the Northeastern Brazilian coast. It was previously reported to Florida (Klautau et al. 2013), Virgin Islands (Klautau et al. 2013), Cura��ao (C��ndor-Luj��n et al. 2018), Rocas Atoll, and Abrolhos Bank (archipelago and shallow reefs, Azevedo et al. 2017). Remarks. The colour, external morphology, and shape of the triactines observed in the specimens analysed in the present work match the original description of C. lutea (Azevedo et al. 2017). However, the specimens from Florida had larger spicules than those from Brazil and Cura��ao (Table 2) (Azevedo et al. 2017; C��ndor-Luj��n et al. 2018). In the phylogenetic tree, the two specimens of C. lutea from Florida and other regions form a clade with a bootstrap support of 82% and presented a p-distance that ranged from 0.0 to 0.11% among them, corroborating our morphological analysis (see the Molecular results section)., Published as part of Lopes, Matheus V., Padua, Andr��, C��ndor-Luj��n, B��slavi & Klautau, Michelle, 2018, Calcareous sponges (Porifera, Calcarea) from Florida: new species, new records and biogeographical affinities, pp. 127-150 in Zootaxa 4526 (2) on pages 131-132, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4526.2.2, http://zenodo.org/record/2611472, {"references":["Azevedo, F., Padua, A., Moraes, F., Rossi, A., Muricy, G. & Klautau, M. (2017) Taxonomy and phylogeny of calcareous sponges (Porifera: Calcarea: Calcinea) from Brazilian mid-shelf and oceanic islands. Zootaxa, 4311 (3), 301 - 344. https: // doi. org / 10.11646 / zootaxa. 4311.3.1","Lehnert, H. & Van Soest, R. W. M. (1998) Shallow water sponges of Jamaica. Beaufortia, 48, 71 - 103.","Moraes, F. C., Vilanova, E. P. & Muricy, G. (2003) Distribuicao das Esponjas (Porifera) na Reserva Biologica do Atol das Rocas, Nordeste do Brasil. Arquivos do Museu Nacional, 61, 13 - 22.","Moraes, F. C., Ventura, M., Klautau, M., Hajdu, E. & Muricy, G. (2006) Biodiversidade de esponjas das ilhas oceanicas brasileiras. In: Alves, R. V. & Castro, J. W. (Eds.), Ilhas oceanicas brasileiras-da pesquisa ao manejo. Ministerio do Meio Ambiente, Brasilia, pp. 147 - 177.","Rossi, A. L., Russo, C. A. M., Sol-Cava, A. M., Rapp, H. T. & Klautau, M. (2011) Phylogenetic signal in the evolution of body colour and spicule skeleton in calcareous sponges. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 163, 1026 - 1034. https: // doi. org / 10.1111 / j. 1096 - 3642.2011.00739. x","Klautau, M., Azevedo, F., Condor-Lujan, B., Rapp, H. T., Collins, A. & Russo, C. A. M. (2013) A molecular phylogeny for the Order Clathrinida rekindles and refines Haeckel's taxonomic proposal for calcareous sponges. Integrative and Comparative Biology, 53 (3), 447 - 461. https: // doi. org / 10.1093 / icb / ict 039","Condor-Lujan, B., Louzada, T., Hajdu, E. & Klautau, M. (2018) Morphological and molecular taxonomy of calcareous sponges (Porifera: Calcarea) from Curacao, Caribbean Sea. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, XX, 1 - 67. https: // doi. org / 10.1093 / zoolinnean / zlx 082"]}

Bidderia bicolora sp. nov. (Figs 2���4; Table 2) " Bidderia with cortical and subcortical skeletons exclusively composed of triactines and atrial skeleton composed of abundant tetractines and fewer triactines. Colour in life can be white or yellow. Sagittal spicules are located on the oscular membrane, surrounding the inhalant apertures and in the subcortical skeleton." Material examined. Holotype, UFRJPOR 8227, Chico 2, Tintamare Island, Saint Martin, Caribbean Sea (18��06.501' N, 62��59.005' W), 20 m depth, coll. B. C��ndor-Luj��n, 27 May 2015. Paratypes, UFRJPOR 8146, Circus-Tintamare, Saint Martin, Caribbean Sea (18��06.510' N, 62��58.999' W), 14 depth, coll. T. P��rez, 26 May 2015; UFRJPOR 8290, Cathedrale Cave, Guadeloupe, Caribbean Sea (16��27.740' N, 61��31.837' W), 17 m depth, coll. B. C��ndor-Lujan, 29 May 2015. Additional material, UFRJPOR 7975, Chico 2, Tintamare Island, Saint Martin, Caribbean Sea (18��06.50' N, 62��59.005' W), 21.7 m depth, coll. F. Azevedo, 0 6 April 2015. UFRJPOR 8202, UFRJPOR 8215, Basses Espagnoles, Saint Martin, Caribbean Sea (18��07.821' N, 63��00.270' W), 6���10 m depth, coll. B. C��ndor-Luj��n, 27 May 2015. UFRJPOR 8226, UFRJPOR 8228, UFRJPOR 8229, UFRJPOR 8230, Chico 2, Tintamare Island, Saint Martin, Caribbean Sea (18��06.501' N, 62��59.005' W), 20 m depth, coll. B. C��ndor-Luj��n, 27 May 2015. UFRJPOR 8252, Scrub Island, Anguilla, Caribbean Sea (18��17.813' N, 62��56.700' W), 13���20 m depth, coll. B. C��ndor-Luj��n, 28 May 2015. UFRJPOR 8294, UFRJPOR 8295, UFRJPOR 8302, Cathedrale, Guadeloupe, Caribbean Sea (16��27.740' N, 61��31.837' W), 17.6 m depth, coll. B. C��ndor-Luj��n, 29 May 2015. UFRJPOR 8302, UFRJPOR 8310, UFRJPOR 8311, UFRJPOR 8312, UFRJPOR 8313, UFRJPOR 8314, UFRJPOR 8315, UFRJPOR 8316, UFRJPOR 8318, UFRJPOR 8319, UFRJPOR 8320, UFRJPOR 8321, UFRJPOR 8322, UFRJPOR 8323, UFRJPOR 8324, UFRJPOR 8325, UFRJPOR 8326, UFRJPOR 8327, UFRJPOR 8328, Am��dien Cave, Guadeloupe, Caribbean Sea (16��30.033' N, 61��28.774' W), 4���6 m depth, coll. B. C��ndor-Luj��n, 31 May 2015. Etymology. From its colour alive, which can be white or yellow. Type locality. Tintamare Island, Saint Martin, Caribbean Sea Colour. Yellow (Fig 2A) or white (Fig 2B) when alive and beige or white (Figs 2 C���D) after preservation in ethanol. Morphology. Cormus massive and lobate (Figs 2 A���B), firm and compressible. The holotype is 14 x 10 x 3 mm. The cormus is composed of tightly and regular anastomosed tubes (Figs 2 C���D) and it is covered by a thin cortical membrane (Fig 3A) rough to the touch. The atrial cavity is located underneath the osculum and it is surrounded by a detachable membrane (arrow in Fig 3A), which is brilliant and hispid. The number of oscula varies among specimens, but a thin membrane always surrounds them (Fig 3B). The aquiferous system is solenoid (Fig 3C). No granular cells were observed. Skeleton. The oscular skeleton is composed of sagittal triactines and tetractines, the tetractines being more abundant than the triactines (Fig 4A). The cortical skeleton has large regular triactines (Figs 3E, 4B). Surrounding the inhalant apertures, there are small regular and sagittal triactines of the same category of those present in the tubes. A subcortical skeleton is present. It is composed of sagittal triactines whose paired actines support the cortical skeleton (Fig 3D). In the choanosome, the skeleton of the tubes is disorganized, composed of abundant small and regular triactines and tetractines, the tetractines being less abundant (Fig 3F). The atrial skeleton is also composed of small and regular triactines and tetractines, but in this case, tetractines are the most abundant spicules (Fig 3C). Spicules (Figs 4 C���G, Table 2). Oscular triactines and tetractines (Figs 3B, 4A): Sagittal. Actines are slightly conical with blunt to sharp tips. The unpaired actine is longer than the paired ones, which are bent. The apical actine of the tetractines is shorter than the basal ones, slightly cylindrical, sharp, smooth and curved at the tip. Size (triactines): 54.0���170.1/8.1���15.3 ��m (paired actines) and 78.3���170.1/8.1���15.3 ��m (unpaired actines). Size (tetractines): 75.0���130.0/8.2���15.0 ��m (paired actines), 75.0���130.0/9.8���15.0 ��m (unpaired actines) and 54.5���83.5/2.5���5.0 ��m (apical actine). Cortical triactines (Fig 4C): Regular (equiangular and equiradiate). Actines are conical with sharp tips. Size: 170.0���259.2/16.2���27.0 ��m. Subcortical triactines (Fig 4D): Sagittal. Actines are slightly conical to cylindrical with blunt to sharp tips. Usually, the unpaired actine is longer than the paired ones, which are bent. Size: 51.3���94.5/5.4���8.1 ��m (paired actines), 72.9���126.9/5.4���8.1 ��m (unpaired actines). Choanosomal and atrial triactines and tetractines (Fig 4E, 4F): Regular (equiangular and equiradiate). Actines are slightly conical to cylindrical with blunt to sharp tips. The triactines around the inhalant canals are sagittal. The apical actine of the tetractines is shorter than the basal ones, slightly cylindrical, sharp, smooth, and slightly curved at the tip (Fig 4G). Size (triactines): 62.1���116.1/5.4���13.5 ��m. Size (tetractines): 72.9���116.1/5.4���12.2 ��m (basal actines) and 43.2���91.8/5.4���8.1 ��m (apical actine). Ecology. Specimens were found from 4.0 to 21.7 m of depth. The individuals collected at Am��dien Cave (Guadeloupe) and at Circus (Tintamare Island, Saint Martin) were found on the roof and/or walls of a cave and they were white; whereas, specimens from Saint Martin were collected in semi-dark caves or in reef crevices (associated with ascidians or growing on corals), in a benthic community mainly dominated by sponges, and they were yellow. Distribution. Anguilla, Saint Martin and Guadeloupe, Lesser Antilles, Caribbean Sea. MEOW ecoregion: Eastern Caribbean., Published as part of Lopes, Matheus V., C��ndor-Luj��n, B��slavi, Azevedo, Fernanda, P��rez, Thierry & Klautau, Michelle, 2018, A new genus of calcareous sponge discovered in the Caribbean Sea: Bidderia gen. nov. (Porifera, Calcarea, Calcinea) in Zootaxa 4526 (1), DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4526.1.4, http://zenodo.org/record/2611409

Calcareous sponges from the Lesser Antilles were recently inventoried and several specimens morphologically resembling species of the genus Ascoleucetta were collected. Morphological and molecular (C-LSU and ITS) analyses indicated that these specimens from the Lesser Antilles constituted a new genus. They lack the conspicuous and very characteristic ornamentation of the inhalant apertures found in two out of three species of Ascoleucetta, including the type species A. compressa. In the molecular analyses, the specimens clustered as an independent lineage, distant from the clade of A. compressa. Based on these results, we decided to erect a new genus, Bidderia gen. nov., whose type species is Bidderia bicolora gen. nov. sp. nov. Considering this new discovery, we are proposing to transfer the species A. amitsba to the genus Bidderia gen. nov. and to rediagnose Ascoleucetta.

Genus Bidderia gen. nov. " Clathrinida with copiously branched and anastomosed choanocyte tubes covered by a well-developed cortex formed mainly by regular triactines measuring at least the double size of the spicules present in the choanosome. Frequently, the inhalant apertures are conspicuous, but show no ornamentation. The exhalant aquiferous system is represented by a well-developed atrium delimited by a membrane with no choanoderm, supported by a specific skeleton of triactines and/or tetractines. Sagittal spicules may be present in the subcortical region. The apical actine of the tetractines has no spines. Aquiferous system is solenoid." Etymology. For George Bidder, in recognition of all his work on the taxonomy of Calcarea.

Borojevia tubulata sp.nov. Figures 8a–c, 9a–f, 10a–h, 11a–f Material examined. Holotype, RMNH Por. 10158, Maldives, Faafu Atoll, Wallstreet, 3.119°N 72.979556°E, depth 12 m, scuba, coll. N.J. de Voogd, field nr. MAD10 /MAS119, 20 February 2015. Paratype, RMNH Por. 10113, Maldives, Faafu Atoll, Free Climbing, 3.066583°N 72.923028°E, depth 15 m, scuba, coll. N.J. de Voogd, field nr. MAD06 /MAS068, 18 February 2015. Additional material, ZMA Por. 12435, Seychelles, Amirantes, Desroches Atoll, SW rim, outer reef slope, 5.7167°S 53.6167°E, depth 5–30 m, scuba, coll. M.J. de Kluijver, NIOP-E stat.nr. 774/04, 30 December 1992. Description. Irregularly arranged, groups of tubular individuals, the walls of which consist of tightly anastomosed tubuli. In situ white (Figs 8a, 10a) or cream or yellow-white (Fig. 8b) colored, on deck (Figs 8c, 10b) and preserved they are cream to pale beige (Figs 10c, 11a). Height of tubes up to about 3 cm, width 0.5 cm at the aperture and 1 cm at the base, but individual tubes may be smaller and thinner. Tube apertures are about as wide as the (pseudo-)atrium or slightly narrower. In preservation the tubes collapse to form easily damaged soft and flabby fragments (Figs 8c, 10b–c, 11a), which have their (pseudo-)atrium flattened to a narrow slit (Fig. 11b). The tube walls are ‘punctate’ (Figs 9a, 10d) caused by regularly distributed pseudopores (cf. Dendy’s (1913) description of Ascaltis gardineri, as Leucosolenia), which give access to the densely crowded tubuli. Aquiferous system. Asconoid. Skeleton. The pseudopores of the outer tube walls are strengthened by larger triactines, arranged in a distinct cortical pattern (Figs 9a, 10d), the skeleton of the walls of the tubuli are built by one-two layers of smaller triactines and tetractines, with the apical actines of the tetractines protruding into the lumina of the tubuli. The atrial sides of the tube walls (Fig. 9b) have an irregular skeleton and do not exhibit a special arrangement of larger triactines as observed on the outer wall, which indicates that the atrium is in fact a pseudoatrium, as is characteristic of the genus Ascaltis according to the Systema Porifera (Borojević et al. 2002a). See below for a further discussion. Spicules. (Figs 9d–f, 10e–h, 11c–f) Triactines in two size classes, tetractines with spined apical actines. The latter invariably have the spines in three distinct rows the position of which match the basal triadiate system. We did not observe the presence of tripods, but we presume the larger category of triactines is homologous. Because of slight discrepancies between the specimens, we provide separate images of the samples and measurements of the three samples: Holotype RMNH Por. 10158: Larger triactines (Fig. 9c) of the outer tube wall, equiradiate or very rarely sagittal, robust, with conical actines, which may slightly differ in length in the same spicule, actines 92– 133 –189 x 11 – 13.4 –16 µm. Smaller triactines (Figs 9d,d 1), equiradiate (Figs 8d), or rarely sagittal (Fig. 9d 1) with undulate paired actines, measuring 54– 63 –111 x 5 – 6.3 –7.5 µm. Tetractines (Figs 9e–f), with basal triradiate system usually equiradiate, but very occasionally there may be sagittal spicules, 51– 68 – 96 x 6 – 6.6 –9 µm, apical actines (Fig. 9f) 24– 37 – 48 x 3.5– 4.4 –5 µm. Paratype RMNH Por. 10113: Larger triactines (Fig. 10e) with conical actines, 129– 151 –174 x 14 – 15.2 –18 µm; one single sagittal triactine was observed in the slides. Smaller triactines (Figs 10f), with conical actines, 59– 72 – 93 x 6 – 7.2 –10 µm. Tetractines (Figs 10g), with conical actines, those of the basal radiate system 48– 67 – 78 x 4.5– 6.6 –8 µm, apical actines with spines (Fig. 10h), 35– 43 – 58 x 4 – 5.2 –7 µm. ZMA Por. 12435 (Figs 11c–f): Larger triactines (Fig. 11c), 102– 117.6 –134 x 11 – 13.4 –17 µm Smaller triactines (Fig. 11d), 51– 75.1 – 94 x 6 – 8.4 –10 µm Tetractines (Figs 11e), 61– 76.3 – 88 x 7 – 8.6 –10 µm, apical actines with spines (Figs 10f), 40– 53.4 – 74 x 6 – 6.6 –7µm. Distribution and ecology. Maldives, Seychelles, under overhangs on coral reefs, depth 5– 30 m. Etymology. Tubulatus (L.) means tube-shaped, referring to the habitus of the species. Remarks. The three samples show some discrepancies, which we consider to be infraspecific variability. The two Maldives samples have similar habitus, but show some color differentiation between distinctly white and more creamy or pale yellow. The holotype has a larger proportion (though still a clear minority) of sagittal tri- and tetractines than the paratype. The Seychelles specimen was noted to be yellow in color, and it lacks sagittal spicules entirely. The Seychelles specimen has smaller triactines than the Maldives and the distinction between larger and smaller spicules is less obvious. For this reason, we limited the type material to that of the Maldives only. However, we believe that the three samples are conspecific. The species is assigned to the genus Borojevia despite the elaborate shape and presence of a pseudoatrium, and despite the absence of clear tripods among the triactines. In fact, we initially assigned the specimens to the genus Ascaltis, based on the habitus and skeletal structure and because a Western Indian Ocean species, Ascaltis gardineri (Dendy, 1913) appeared to be close in skeletal characters. The major difference between that species and our specimens is the lobate, non-tubular habitus in the former. Molecular sequence data (partial 28S, cf. Fig. 2B) were obtained for the holotype and the Seychelles material of Borojevia tubulata sp.nov. Our phylogenetic analysis of Calcinean sequences, obtained from our own Western Indian Ocean samples, Voigt et al. ’s (2017) samples (we were allowed to include a recent sequence of Borojevia sp. from the Maldives kindly sent to us by Oliver Voigt, which is likely a member of the present new species), and from GenBank, clearly showed that the present species is closely related to Borojevia aspina (Klautau et al., 1994), Borojevia aff. aspina sensu Voigt et al. 2017, B. cerebrum (Haeckel, 1872), B. brasiliensis (Solé-Cava et al. 1991) and a new Borojevia species decribed below, and was distant from Ascaltis reticulum (Schmidt, 1862), the only Ascaltis for which molecular data are available. As Klautau et al. (2016) pointed out, we cannot be certain about the molecular affiliation of the genus Ascaltis yet, because there are no sequences available for the type species Ascaltis lamarcki (Haeckel, 1872). We have chosen to follow the molecular signal and keep our species in the genus Borojevia, against the weight of morphological evidence for a possible membership of Ascaltis. The new species differs from the above-described Borojevia voigti sp.nov. in the presence of a pseudoatrium and the more prominent and consistent spination of the apical actines of the tetractines. A further similar species appears to be Leucascus simplex Dendy, 1892, from South Australia, reported also from Providence Island in the Seychelles by Dendy (1913). The type of that species has spined apical actines (cf. redescription of L. simplex in Cavalcanti et al. 2013), but it has not been verified for the Providence specimen. This differs from the present species also in habitus (massive, with only a slit-like atrial cavity). Below we describe a new species of Leucascus from Eastern South Africa. Apart from a more elaborate shape, it is distinct by having a surface palisade of short diactines. The present species is not a likely Leucascu s, as in our phylogeny of Fig. 2, Leucascus flavus Cavalcanti et al,. 2009 is not at all closely related to Borojevia species., Published as part of Van, Rob W. M. & De, Nicole J., 2018, Calcareous sponges of the Western Indian Ocean and Red Sea, pp. 1-160 in Zootaxa 4426 (1) on pages 28-34, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4426.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/1271239, {"references":["Borojevic, R., Boury-Esnault, N., Manuel, M. & Vacelet, J. (2002 a) Order Clathrinida Hartman, 1958. In: Hooper, J. N. A. & van Soest, R. W. M. (Eds.), Systema Porifera. A guide to the classification of sponges. 2. Kluwer Academic / Plenum Publishers, New York, Boston, Dordrecht, London, Moscow, pp. 1141 - 1152. Available from: http: // www. springer. com / us / book / 9780306472602 (accessed 21 January 2018)","Voigt, O., Erpenbeck, D., Gonzalez-Pech, R. A., Al-Aidaroos, A. M., Berumen, M. L. & Worheide, G. (2017) Calcinea of the Red Sea: providing a DNA barcode inventory with description of four new species. Marine Biodiversity, 47 (4), 1009 - 1034. https: // doi. org / 10.1007 / s 12526 - 017 - 0671 - x","Klautau, M., Sole-Cava, A. M. & Borojevic, R. (1994) Biochemical systematics of sibling sympatric species of Clathrina (Porifera: Calcarea). Biochemical Systematics and Ecology, 22 (4), 367 - 375. Available from: http: // www. sciencedirect. com / science / article / pii / 0305197894900272 (accessed 21 January 2018)","Haeckel, E. (1872) Die Kalkschwamme. Eine Monographie in zwei Banden Text und einem Atlas mit 60 Tafeln Abbildungen. Vol. 1 - 3. G. Reimer, Berlin, 484 pp., 418 pp. & 60 pls. Available from: https: // www. biodiversitylibrary. org / item / 44605 page / 5 / mode / 1 up (accessed 13 March 2018)","Sole-Cava, A. M., Klautau, M., Boury-Esnault, N., Borojevic, R. & Thorpe, J. P. (1991) Genetic evidence for cryptic speciation in allopatric populations of two cosmopolitan species of the calcareous sponge genus Clathrina. Marine Biology, 111 (3), 381 - 386. Available from: https: // link. springer. com / article / 10.1007 / BF 01319410 (accessed 21 January 2018)","Schmidt, O. (1862) Die Spongien des adriatischen Meeres. VIII. Wilhelm Engelmann, Leipzig, 88 pp.","Dendy, A. (1892) Synopsis of the Australian Calcarea Heterocoela; with a proposed classification of the group and descriptions of some new genera and species. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria, New Series 5, 69 - 116. Available from: https: // www. biodiversitylibrary. org / item / 34434 page / 111 / mode / 1 up (accessed 21 January 2018)","Cavalcanti, F. F., Rapp, H. T. & Klautau, M. (2013) Taxonomic revision of Leucascus Dendy, 1892 (Porifera: Calcarea) with revalidation of Ascoleucetta Dendy & Frederick, 1924 and description of three new species. Zootaxa, 3619 (3), 275 - 314. https: // doi. org / 10.11646 / zootaxa. 3619.3.3"]}

Clathrina blanca sensu Jenkin 1908 This was discussed above in the Remarks paragraph of Clathrina aff. pulcherrima, Published as part of Van, Rob W. M. & De, Nicole J., 2018, Calcareous sponges of the Western Indian Ocean and Red Sea, pp. 1-160 in Zootaxa 4426 (1) on page 152, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4426.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/1271239, {"references":["Jenkin, C. F. (1908) The marine fauna of Zanzibar and British East Africa, from collections made by Cyril Crossland, M. A., in the years 1901 & 1902. The Calcareous Sponges. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, 1908, 434 - 456. Available from: https: // www. biodiversitylibrary. org / item / 99643 page / 46 / mode / 1 up (accessed 21 January 2018)"]}

Pericharax orientalis Van Soest & De Voogd, 2015 Figs 51a���h Pericharax heteroraphis; sensu Dendy 1913: 13 (not: Pericharax carteri var. heteroraphis Pol��jaeff, 1883: 66). Pericharax orientalis Van Soest & De Voogd, 2015: 57, figs 41a���e, 42a���e. Material examined. RMNH Por. 10157, Maldives, Faafu Atoll, Wallstreet, 3.119��N 72.979556��E, depth 12 m, scuba, coll. N.J. de Voogd, field nr. MAD10/MAS118, 20 February 2015; ZMA Por. 17996, Mauritius, 20.0304��S 57.5364��E, depth 7���28 m, scuba, coll. P. Daniel Marie, field nr. MO4SP5TB, 2014; ZMA Por. 18308, Mauritius, 20.0378��S 57.5361��E, depth 10���20 m, scuba, coll. P. Daniel Marie, field nr. 5, December 2014; ZMA Por. 21792, Mauritius, depth 10���20 m, scuba, coll. P. Daniel Marie, field nr. VI sp.17, December 2010. Description. Since this species was treated extensively recently (see Van Soest & De Voogd, 2015), we provide here only a short description. Large, yellow-green, upright or volcanoe-shaped sponges (Fig. 51a), with faintly ridged or shallowly grooved sides and prominent wide central vent or oscule. Occasionally two or more individuals are attached forming a small group. Sizes up to 10 cm or more in height, 10 cm or more in diameter. Surface may be covered in tiny tubes of syllid worms. In preservation, specimens become red-brown (Fig. 51b). Consistency hard, rough to the touch. Aquiferous system. Leuconoid. Skeleton. Cortical region with a thin layer of small sagittal triactines forming rounded subdermal spaces, carried by tangentially arranged subcortical giant triactines. Choanosomal skeleton built predominantly by small triactines supporting the leuconoid canal system. The atrial walls are formed predominantly by tetractines with their apical actines protruding into the atrial cavity (Fig. 51c). Spicules. (Figs 51d���h) Giant triactines, small cortical triactines, small choanosomal triactines, atrial tetractines. Giant triactines (Fig. 51d), equiradiate, equiangular, 396��� 1386 ���2310 x 28��� 124.3 ���222 ��m. Cortical triactines (Fig. 51e), irregular, slightly sagittal, with all three actines slightly different and somewhat wavy, 54��� 88 ���119 x 6 ��� 8.1 ���11 ��m. Small triactines (Fig. 51f), regular, equiradiate, equiangular, 126��� 181 ���228 x 12 ��� 15.9 ���23 ��m. Tetractines (Figs 51g ���h), with basal radiate system equiradiate, equiangular, actines 106��� 156 ���192 x 7 ��� 11.3 ���17 ��m, apical actines (Fig. 51h) thin, mostly wavy or curved, but may be straight, 25��� 67 ���108 x 4 ��� 6.4 ���10 ��m. Distribution and ecology. Maldives, Mauritius, elsewhere widely distributed in the Indo-West Pacific tropical region, on reefs down to 20 m or deeper. Remarks. Pericharax peziza Dendy, 1913 is a small cup-shaped sponge, pale yellow in alcohol, which has not been found again after its original description from Cargados Carajos. Its skeletal architecture and spiculation is similar to P. orientalis. We obtained sequences of the holotype of Pericharax orientalis from Indonesia (RMNH Por. 5259) and of the above described RMNH Por 10157 from the Maldives and in our phylogenetic analysis (Fig. 2C) both ended up in the same clade at moderate bootstrap value. Recently, Leocorny et al. (2017) described several new Pericharax species from Western Australia, P. vallii Leocorny et al., 2017, and P.crypta Leocorny et al., 2017. These species clearly differ from the present specimens in aspects of habitus and spicule sizes. Leocorny et al. (2017) found that Leucetta and Pericharax could not be retrieved as monophyletic, and this is confirmed in our Fig. 2C., Published as part of Van, Rob W. M. & De, Nicole J., 2018, Calcareous sponges of the Western Indian Ocean and Red Sea, pp. 1-160 in Zootaxa 4426 (1) on pages 87-89, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4426.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/1271239, {"references":["Polejaeff, N. (1883) Report on the Calcarea dredged by H. M. S. ' Challenger', during the years 1873 - 1876. Report on the Scientific Results of the Voyage of H. M. S. ' Challenger', 1873 - 1876, Zoology, 8 (2), 1 - 76."]}

Clathrina maremeccae sp.nov. Figures 25a–c Material examined. Holotype, RMNH Por. 9662, Saudi Arabia, Jeddah, near Thuwal, Um Albalam, 22.193556°N 38.9475°E, scuba, coll. N.J. de Voogd, field nr. THU10/JED166, 12 November 2014. Description. Cormus clathroid (Fig. 25a), forming a loosely anastomosed small mass of tubuli 0.2–1 mm in diameter leading to a few wider oscules. The single specimen is 15 x 8 x 4 mm in size. No evident water-collecting tubes. Color pale yellow, based on an on deck photo as there is no in situ photo. Skeleton. (Fig. 25b) The tubule walls have a single layer of overlapping triactines. Spicules. (Figs 25c) Equiradiate and sagittal triactines, with cylindrical actines, ending in often slightly swollen, blunt endings. Actines 67– 127.8 –165 x 5 – 6.4 –7.5 µm. A few broken trichoxeas are considered foreign. Distribution and ecology. Saudian part of the Red Sea, on reefs. Etymology. The name refers to the type locality, the Red Sea, which was named Mare Mecca by historical geographers (Wikipedia.org). Remarks. The new species resembles Red Sea Clathrina rotundata Voigt et al., 2017 both in morphological aspects (loosely clathroid and with cylindrical actines of the triactines), and in a molecular sense as this species, based on partial 28SrRNA, also falls outside the larger clades of Clathrina species in our phylogenetic tree of Western Indian Ocean Clathrina species (Fig. 2A). However, there are also compelling reasons not to assign the present specimen to C. rotundata. Morphologically, the on deck photo shows a pale yellow color, whereas C. rotundata is white, and the upper actine length of the triactines is considerably higher than that of C. rotundata (165 vs. 123 µm). Molecularly, according to our phylogenetic analysis, the two species are not closely related. In a separate trimmed alignment of the two species of 382 sites length, C. maremeccae sp.nov. and C. rotundata differed in 49 sites. There is considerable morphological similarity with Indonesian Clathrina beckingae Van Soest & De Voogd, 2015, which has the same shape and tube diameter, colors also white and cream in various specimens, and equiradiate triactines with cylindrical actines. Differences are the presence of distinct water-collecting tubes and the absence of sagittal spicules in C. beckingae. Actine sizes of the triactines are also considerably smaller than those in C. maremeccae sp.nov. (up to 103 µm in C. beckingae). We obtained partial 28srRNA sequences for this Indonesian material, and found that it differed in a separate trimmed 28S rRNA alignment of 382 sites length in 26 different sites. No closely related species were identified in our partial 28SrRNA tree (Fig. 2A). At the suggestion of one of the reviewers, we obtained an ITS sequence (not submitted to GenBank) for this species and in an analysis (not shown here) of ITS sequences of Clathrina species that appeared highly similar in a BLAST attempt, downloaded from GenBank, we noted that the new species ended up in a highly supported clade with Clathrin a sp. 4 and sp. 5 sensu Klautau et al. 2013, respectively a species from the Caribbean and from French Polynesia. A trimmed alignment of 556 sites of the three species showed 35 site differences between C. maremeccae sp.nov. and C. sp. 4, and 21 site differences with C. sp. 5.

Family Clathrinidae Minchin, 1900 Remarks. Since the Systema Porifera classification of the order Clathrinida (see Borojević et al. 2002a), substantial changes of the contents of the family Clathrinidae have been proposed (Klautau et al. 2013) and elaborated (Klautau et al. 2016). The genus Clathrina Gray, 1867 has been subdivided into five distinct genera, Arturia Azevedo et al., 2017 (pro Arthuria Klautau et al., 2013), Borojevia Klautau et al., 2013, Ernstia Klautau et al., 2013, Brattegardia Klautau et al., 2013, and Clathrina s.s.. The only other genus of the family recognized in the Systema Porifera, genus Guancha Miklucho-Maclay, 1868, has been subsumed into Clathrina s.s., because its type species Guancha blanca Miklucho-Maclay, 1868 has been transferred to Clathrina sensu Klautau et al., 2013. One former Guancha species, G. tetela Borojević & Peixinho, 1976 was recently reassigned to a new genus, Nicola Cond��r-Luj��n & Klautau, 2016. The classification is still in a flux, as it was recently revealed that the name Arthuria was preoccupied by two Mollusca genera (Polyplacophora and Pulmonata). It has just now been replaced by Arturia, but it is still complicated by our discovery (see below) that Arturia is probably not a monophyletic genus. The family contents are also possibly overlapping with other families of the order Clathrinida, awaiting an overhaul based on a phylogenetic analysis of molecular sequence data. We will here follow the classification as presented in Klautau et al. 2013, with above listed recognized genera presented in alphabetical order (Brattegardia excepted as it was not represented in our material). Below we will use the word ���tubuli��� to describe the anastomosed ascon tubes of Clathrinidae species to avoid confusion with the tubes of tubular habitus in some species with a pseudoatrium. We maintain the term ���watercollecting tubes��� for those wider tubuli leading to oscules., Published as part of Van, Rob W. M. & De, Nicole J., 2018, Calcareous sponges of the Western Indian Ocean and Red Sea, pp. 1-160 in Zootaxa 4426 (1) on page 22, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4426.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/1271239, {"references":["Minchin, E. A. (1900) Chapter III. Sponges. In: Lankester, E. R. (Ed.), A Treatise on Zoology. Part II. The Porifera and Coelenterata. 2. Adam & Charles Black, London, 178 pp.","Borojevic, R., Boury-Esnault, N., Manuel, M. & Vacelet, J. (2002 a) Order Clathrinida Hartman, 1958. In: Hooper, J. N. A. & van Soest, R. W. M. (Eds.), Systema Porifera. A guide to the classification of sponges. 2. Kluwer Academic / Plenum Publishers, New York, Boston, Dordrecht, London, Moscow, pp. 1141 - 1152. Available from: http: // www. springer. com / us / book / 9780306472602 (accessed 21 January 2018)","Gray, J. E. (1867) Notes on the arrangement of sponges, with the descriptions of some new genera. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, 1867 (2), 492 - 558. Available from: https: // www. biodiversitylibrary. org / item / 93424 page / 514 / mode / 1 up (accessed 21 January 2018)","Azevedo, F., Padua, A., Moraes, F., Rossi, A., Muricy, G. & Klautau, M. (2017) Taxonomy and phylogeny of calcareous sponges (Porifera: Calcarea: Calcinea) from Brazilian mid-shelf and oceanic islands. Zootaxa, 4311 (3), 301 - 344. https: // doi. org / 10.11646 / zootaxa. 4311.3.1","Miklucho-Maclay, N. (1868) Beitrage zur Kenntniss der Spongien I. Jenaische Zeitschrift fur Medicin und Naturwissenschaft, 4, 221 - 240.","Borojevic, R. & Peixinho, S. (1976) Eponges calcaires du Nord-Nord-Est du Bresil. Bulletin du Museum national d'Histoire naturelle, Series 3 A, 402, 987 - 1036.","Condor-Lujan, B. & Klautau, M. (2016) Nicola gen. nov. with redescription of Nicola tetela (Borojevic & Peixinho, 1976) (Porifera: Calcarea: Calcinea: Clathrinida). Zootaxa, 4103 (3), 230 - 238. https: // doi. org / 10.11646 / zootaxa. 4103.3.2"]}