Premium
Svenzea zeai , a Caribbean reef sponge with a giant larva, and Scopalina ruetzleri : a comparative fine‐structural approach to classification (Demospongiae, Halichondrida, Dictyonellidae)
Author(s) -
Rützler Klaus,
Soest Rob W. M.,
Alvarez Belinda
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
invertebrate biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.486
H-Index - 42
eISSN - 1744-7410
pISSN - 1077-8306
DOI - 10.1111/j.1744-7410.2003.tb00085.x
Subject(s) - biology , sponge , phylum , larva , mangrove , zoology , sponge spicule , coral reef , phylogenetic tree , genus , reef , living fossil , ecology , anatomy , botany , paleontology , biochemistry , bacteria , gene
.Svenzea zeai , abundant on many deep Caribbean fore‐reef habitats but of uncertain systematic position within the Demospongiae, is closely examined histologically and cytologically for evidence of its phylogenetic relationship beyond the traditional analysis of gross morphology and skeletal structure. We document that S. zeai is a bacteriosponge containing substantial quantities of unicellular photosynthetic and autotrophic microbes; that the most abundant cell type is an unusual cell with refractile granules that only few species share and whose composition and function are still enigmatic; and that it produces the largest—by a factor of 3—embryos and larvae recorded in the phylum Porifera. A combination of characters such as the granular cells, ciliary pattern, and aspects of larval shape and behavior are comparable with those of Scopalina ruetzleri , family Dictyonellidae, a prominent member of the Caribbean mangrove community. These results support our earlier decision to establish Svenzea as a new genus in Dictyonellidae to accommodate its unprecedented skeletal structure, styles in isodictyal reticulation.