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Background  Sponges are particularly prone to hiding cryptic species as their paradigmatic plasticity often favors species phenotypic convergence as a result of adaptation to similar habitat conditions.  Hemimycale  is a sponge genus (Family Hymedesmiidae, Order Poecilosclerida) with four formally described species, from which only  Hemimycale columella  has been recorded in the Atlanto-Mediterranean basin, on shallow to 80 m deep bottoms. Contrasting biological features between shallow and deep individuals of  Hemimycale columella  suggested larger genetic differences than those expected between sponge populations. To assess whether shallow and deep populations indeed belong to different species, we performed a phylogenetic study of  Hemimycale columella  across the Mediterranean. We also included other  Hemimycale  and  Crella  species from the Red Sea, with the additional aim of clarifying the relationships of the genus  Hemimycale .    Methods   Hemimycale columella  was sampled across the Mediterranean, and Adriatic Seas.  Hemimycale arabica  and  Crella cyathophora  were collected from the Red Sea and Pacific. From two to three specimens per species and locality were extracted, amplified for Cytochrome C Oxidase I (COI) (M1–M6 partition), 18S rRNA, and 28S (D3–D5 partition) and sequenced. Sequences were aligned using Clustal W v.1.81. Phylogenetic trees were constructed under neighbor joining (NJ), Bayesian inference (BI), and maximum likelihood (ML) criteria as implemented in Geneious software 9.01. Moreover, spicules of the target species were observed through a Scanning Electron microscope.    Results  The several phylogenetic reconstructions retrieved both  Crella  and  Hemimycale  polyphyletic. Strong differences in COI sequences indicated that  C. cyathophora  from the Red Sea might belong in a different genus, closer to  Hemimycale arabica  than to the Atlanto-Mediterranean  Crella  spp. Molecular and external morphological differences between  Hemimycale arabica  and the Atlanto-Mediterranean  Hemimycale  also suggest that  Hemimycale arabica  fit in a separate genus. On the other hand, the Atlanto-Mediterranean Crellidae appeared in 18S and 28S phylogenies as a sister group of the Atlanto-Mediterranean  Hemimycale . Moreover, what was known up to now as  Hemimycale columella,  is formed by two cryptic species with contrasting bathymetric distributions. Some small but consistent morphological differences allow species distinction.    Conclusions  A new family (Hemimycalidae) including the genus  Hemimycale  and the two purported new genera receiving  C. cyathophora  and  Hemimycale arabica  might be proposed according to our phylogenetic results. However, the inclusion of additional Operational Taxonomic Unit (OTUs) appears convenient before taking definite taxonomical decisions. A new cryptic species ( Hemimycale mediterranea  sp. nov.) is described. Morphologically undifferentiated species with contrasting biological traits, as those here reported, confirm that unidentified cryptic species may confound ecological studies.

peerj

Molecular phylogenies confirm the presence of two crypticHemimycalespecies in the Mediterranean and reveal the polyphyly of the generaCrellaandHemimycale(Demospongiae: Poecilosclerida)