| Neopetrosia proxima | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Porifera |
| Class: | Demospongiae |
| Order: | Haplosclerida |
| Family: | Petrosiidae |
| Genus: | Neopetrosia |
| Species: | N. proxima |
| Binomial name | |
| Neopetrosia proxima | |
| Synonyms [1] | |
Neopetrosia proxima is a species of marine petrosiid sponge native to the tropical and subtropical waters of the western Atlantic Ocean.
Neopetrosia proxima was originally described by the French naturalist Édouard Placide Duchassaing de Fontbressin and the Italian naturalist Giovanni Michelotti in 1864 as Thalysias proxima. [2] It was transferred from the genus Xestospongia to Neopetrosia in 2005. [3] It is classified under the family Petrosiidae in the order Haplosclerida. [1]
Neopetrosia proxima is externally brown, purplish brown, or maroon in coloration, while internally it is light tan. They form thick spreading masses on the substrate (usually coral rubble). The masses are highly variable in shape, with a somewhat wrinkled (rugose) surface. The surface is generally smooth in appearance, though it has the texture of fine sandpaper when touched. The consistency is hard but not brittle. It is very difficult to cut or tear and crumbles when crushed. Injured surfaces are distinctively sticky to the touch. [4] [5]
The sponge mass is lobated, with regular to irregularly shaped lobes typically 3 to 5 cm (1.2 to 2.0 in) tall. Each lobe has one opening (oscule) about 2 to 5 mm (0.079 to 0.197 in) in diameter, either located flush on the surface or elevated in small chimneys. The spicules are composed solely of strongyles, cylindrical in shape with rounded ends. [4] [5]
N. proxima serves as a host to symbiotic cyanobacteria, [4] as well as colonies of the eusocial snapping shrimp in the genus Synalpheus . [6] [7]
The larvae are positively phototrophic. [4]
This species is found in the tropical and subtropical waters of the western Atlantic Ocean, from the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of the United States to the Caribbean Sea (including the waters off Colombia, Costa Rica, Belize, Barbados, the Greater Antilles, Hispaniola, Panama, and the Virgin Islands). They are also found off the coasts of Brazil and Venezuela. [1] [4]
Synalpheus is a genus of snapping shrimp of the family Alpheidae, presently containing more than 100 species; new ones are described on a regular basis, and the exact number even of described species is disputed.
Spongia is a genus of marine sponges in the family Spongiidae, originally described by Carl Linnaeus in 1759, containing more than 60 species. Some species, including Spongia officinalis, are used as cleaning tools, but have mostly been replaced in that use by synthetic or plant material.
Amphimedon is a genus of sponges with over 60 described species. In 2009, Amphimedon queenslandica was the first species of sponge to have its genome sequenced.
Amphimedon compressa, the erect rope sponge, red tree sponge, red tubular sponge, or red sponge is a demosponge found in southern Florida, the Caribbean Sea, and the Bahamas. It can be deep red, orange, brown, or black.
Ptilocaulis is a genus of demosponges. The species within this genus are usually red or orange. They are often called tree sponges, as they grow many branches from a single stem resembling trees. They can grow to large size.
Agelas is a genus of sea sponge in the class Demospongiae.
Neofibularia nolitangere, commonly known as the touch-me-not sponge, is a species of sea sponge in the family Biemnidae. It is found in shallow waters in the Western Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea.
Synalpheus regalis is a species of snapping shrimp that commonly live in sponges in the coral reefs along the tropical West Atlantic. They form a prominent component of the diverse marine cryptofauna of the region. For the span of their entire lives, they live in the internal canals of the host sponge, using it as a food resource and shelter. It has been shown that colonies contain over 300 individuals, but only one reproductive female. Also, larger colony members, most of which apparently never breed, defend the colony against heterospecific intruders. This evidence points towards the first known case of eusociality in a marine animal.
Aplysina insularis, commonly known as the yellow-green candle sponge or yellow candle sponge, is a species of sea sponge found on reefs in the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico.
Édouard Placide Duchassaing de Fontbressin was a French naturalist. He is noted for his work in botany and spongiology.
Synalpheus microneptunus is a species of small snapping shrimp native to the waters off the island of Barbados. It is one of at least seven known species of eusocial shrimp. They are cryptofauna, living exclusively within the network of tunnels in the sponges Neopetrosia proxima and Neopetrosia subtriangularis. They form small colonies of six to fifteen individuals, usually with only a single breeding female.
Neopetrosia subtriangularis is a species of marine petrosiid sponges native to the waters off Florida and the Caribbean Sea. They superficially resemble staghorn corals.
Neopetrosia is a genus of marine petrosiid sponges. It was first established by the American spongiologist Max Walker de Laubenfels in 1932. It contains these 27 species:
Agelas tubulata is a species of demosponge. It is tube-shaped or vase-shaped and variable in colour. It is found in the Caribbean area and along the coasts of Brazil at depths of between about 70 and 90 m. It was first described by Lehnert & van Soest in 1996, the type location being the Greater Antilles.
Anheteromeyenia is a genus of freshwater sponge. It has been recorded in the Nearctic, the Neotropics. This taxon was initially a subgenus of Heteromeyenia when K. Schöder circumscribed it in 1927, but W. M. de Laubenfels made it a genus in its own right in 1936.
Agelas dispar is a species of demosponge in the family Agelasidae. It lives on shallow-water reefs in the Caribbean Sea and around the West Indies.
Smenospongia is a genus of demosponges in the family Thorectidae.
Leucetta is a genus of sponges in the family Leucettidae, which was first described in 1872 by Ernst Haeckel. The type species is Leucetta primigenia Haeckel, 1872 by subsequent designation.
Spirastrella coccinea is a species of marine sponge in the family Spirastrellidae. It is found in the tropical western Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico.