Skip to main content Skip to main navigation menu Skip to site footer
Responsive image
Issue: Vol. 4341 No. 2: 31 Oct. 2017
Type: Correspondence
Published: 2017-10-31
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4341.2.8
Page range: 275–278
Abstract views: 78
PDF downloaded: 2

Racekiela andina sp. nov. (Spongillida: Spongillidae): first report of a freshwater sponge from the Venezuelan Andes

Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Universidad de Los Andes. Av. Alberto Carnevali, Mérida 5101, Mérida, Venezuela.
Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Universidad de Los Andes. Av. Alberto Carnevali, Mérida 5101, Mérida, Venezuela.
Porifera Spongillida Spongillidae

Abstract

The genus Racekiela Bass & Volkmer-Ribeiro, 1998 comprises six species of freshwater sponges distributed along the Palaearctic, Nearctic and Neotropical regions (Van Soest et al. 2017). They are characterized by an isodictyal skeleton solely of acanthoxeas, sparse spongin fibers, and tri-layered gemmules with radially embedded gemmoscleres of two types, short birotules and long pseudobirotules (Manconi & Pronzato 2002; Volkmer-Ribeiro & Machado 2007). Four species occur in the Northern Hemisphere: R. biceps (Lindenschmidt, 1950) from Michigan (Lindenschmidt 1950), R. pictouensis (Potts, 1885) from eastern Canada to New York (Penney & Racek 1968), R. ryderii (Potts, 1882) which ranges from eastern North America to the British Isles, Faroes and Norway (Manconi & Pronzato 2002), and the recently described R. montemflumina Carballo, Cruz-Barraza, Yáñez & Gómez, 2017 from Northwestern Mexico (Carballo et al. 2017). It is worthy to note that R. pictouensis is considered to be an ecomorph of R. ryderii by several authors (Porrier 1977; Ricciardi & Reiswig 1993). The other two species, R. cavernicola (Volkmer-Ribeiro, Bichuette & Machado, 2010) and R. sheilae (Volkmer-Ribeiro, De Rosa-Barbosa & Tavares, 1988), are both known only from Brazil (Volkmer-Ribeiro & Machado 2007; Volkmer-Ribeiro et al. 2010). Here we describe a new member of the genus, found in lakes of high-mountain ecosystems, or páramos, in the Cordillera de Mérida. This constitutes the first record of specimens belonging to Racekiela for the Andes and Venezuela.

 

References

  1. Bass, D. & Volkmer-Ribeiro, C. (1998) Radiospongilla crateriformis (Porifera, Spongillidae) in the West Indies and taxonomic notes. Iheringia. Série Zoologia, 85, 123–128.

    Boury-Esnault, N. & Volkmer-Ribeiro, C. (1991) The Porifera: description of a new taxon Balliviaspongia wirrmanni n .g., n. sp. In: Dejoux, C. & Iltis, A. (Eds.), Lake Titicaca: a synthesis of limnological knowledge. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, pp. 295–301.

    Carballo, J.L., Cruz-Barraza, J.A., Yáñez, B. & Gómez, P. (2017). Taxonomy and molecular systematic position of freshwater genus Racekiela (Porifera: Spongillida) with the description of a new species from North-west Mexico. Systematics and Biodiversity, 1–11.
    https://doi.org/10.1080/14772000.2017.1359216

    Gray, J.E. (1867) Notes on the arrangement of sponges, with description of some new genera. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, 2, 492–558.

    Lindenschmidt, M.J. (1950) A new species of fresh-water sponge. Transactions of the American Microscopical Society, 69, 214–216.
    https://doi.org/10.2307/3223412

    Manconi, R. & Pronzato, R. (2002) Sub-order Spongillina subord. nov.: freshwater sponges. In: Hooper, J.N.A. & van Soest, R.W.M. (Eds.), Systema Porifera: A Guide to the Classification of Sponges. Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, New York, pp. 921–1019.
    https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-0747-5_97

    Penney, J.T. & Racek, A.A. (1968) Comprehensive revision of a worldwide collection of freshwater sponges (Porifera: Spongillidae). Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington D.C., 184 pp.

    https://doi.org/10.5479/si.03629236.272.1

    Poirrier, M.A. (1977) Systematic and ecological studies of Anheteromeyenia ryderi (Porifera: Spongillidae) in Louisiana. Transactions of the American Microscopical Society, 96, 62–67.
    https://doi.org/10.2307/3225964

    Potts, E. (1882) Three more fresh-water sponges. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, 1, 12–4.

    Potts, E. (1885) A new freshwater sponge from Nova Scotia. Journal of Natural History, 15, 425–426.
    https://doi.org/10.1080/00222938509459359

    Ricciardi, A. & Reiswig, H.M. (1993) Freshwater sponges (Porifera, Spongillidae) of eastern Canada: taxonomy, distribution, and ecology. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 71, 665–682.
    https://doi.org/10.1139/z93-091

    Sollas, W.J. (1885) A classification of the sponges. Scientific Proceedings of the Royal Dublin Society, 16, 395.
    https://doi.org/10.1080/00222938509459901

    Van Soest, R.W.M, Boury-Esnault, N., Hooper, J.N.A., Rützler, K., de Voogd, N.J., Alvarez de Glasby, B., Hajdu, E., Pisera, A.B., Manconi, R., Schoenberg, C., Klautau, M., Picton, B., Kelly, M., Vacelet, J., Dohrmann, M., Díaz, M.C., Cárdenas, P. & Carballo, J.L. (2017) World Porifera Database. Available from: http://www.marinespecies.org/porifera (accessed 25 January 2017)

    Volkmer-Ribeiro, C., De Rosa-Barbosa, R. & Tavares, M.C.M. (1988) Anheteromeyenia sheilae sp. e outras esponjas dulceaqüicolas da região costeira do RS (Porifera: Spongillidae). Iheringia. Série Zoologia, 68, 83–98.

    Volkmer-Ribeiro, C. & Machado, V. (2007) Freshwater sponges (Porifera, Demospongiae) indicators of some coastal habitats in South America: redescriptions and key to identification. Iheringia, Série Zoologia, 97, 157–167.
    https://doi.org/10.1590/s0073-47212007000200005

    Volkmer-Ribeiro, C., Bichuette, M.E. & Machado, V. (2010) Racekiela cavernicola (Porifera: Demospongiae) new species and the first record of cave freshwater sponge from Brazil. Neotropical Biology and Conservation, 5, 53–58.
    https://doi.org/10.4013/nbc.2010.51.08