| Neopetrosia subtriangularis | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Porifera |
| Class: | Demospongiae |
| Order: | Haplosclerida |
| Family: | Petrosiidae |
| Genus: | Neopetrosia |
| Species: | N. subtriangularis |
| Binomial name | |
| Neopetrosia subtriangularis (Duchassaing, 1850) [1] | |
| Synonyms [1] | |
List
| |
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 subtriangularis was originally described by the French naturalist Édouard Placide Duchassaing de Fontbressin in 1850 as Spongia subtriangularis. [2] It is classified under the genus Neopetrosia of the family Petrosiidae in the order Haplosclerida. [1]
Neopetrosia subtriangularis superficially resemble the staghorn coral ( Acropora cervicornis ) in appearance. They form clusters of interconnecting solid branches that tend to sprawl along the substrate (repent), [3] though these branches may sometimes be solitary (arising from a flattened base) and erect. [4]
The branches are brown, beige, yellow or orange in coloration on the external surfaces, though they may possess a greenish tinge. Internal surfaces are tan to off-white in coloration. [5] They are usually around 28 cm (11 in) long and 2.5 cm (0.98 in) wide and may be laterally flattened. [3] In the Bahamas, the individual branches tend to be wider, around 3 to 5 cm (1.2 to 2.0 in), than in other areas where they average at 1 to 2 cm (0.39 to 0.79 in). [6] They are hard in consistency, but are brittle and easily break off. The surface of the branches are smooth and flat. [5]
The openings (oscules) are round and 2 to 4 mm (0.079 to 0.157 in) in diameter, usually surrounded by a rim of paler colored (usually white or yellow) membrane. They may be located flush on the surface or elevated in small conical chimneys, around 1.3 cm (0.51 in) tall. They are distributed regularly on the upper surface of the branches, forming neat rows. Individual oscules may sometimes fuse together to form a crest. [3] [5] The spicules are curved cylinders, with pointed (oxea) or rounded (strongyloxea) tips at both ends. [5]
Neopetrosia subtriangularis are found in shallow reefs and seagrass beds at depths of greater than 3 m (9.8 ft). Especially in the turbid waters of sand channels. [7] They serve as hosts of colonies of the eusocial snapping shrimp in the genus Synalpheus . [8] [9]
Neopetrosia subtriangularis is found off the east and west coasts of Florida, the Bahamas, and throughout the entire Caribbean Sea. [3] [5]
Sponges, the members of the phylum Porifera, are a basal animal clade as a sister of the diploblasts. They are multicellular organisms that have bodies full of pores and channels allowing water to circulate through them, consisting of jelly-like mesohyl sandwiched between two thin layers of cells.
Synalpheus is a genus of snapping shrimp of the family Alpheidae, presently containing more than 160 species; new ones are described on a regular basis, and the exact number even of described species is disputed.
Agelas clathrodes, also known as the orange elephant ear sponge, is a species of sea sponge. It lives on reefs in the Caribbean, usually more than 10 metres (33 ft) below the surface of the ocean. It takes various forms, and its color is reddish orange.
The giant barrel sponge is the largest species of sponge found growing on Caribbean coral reefs. It is common at depths greater than 10 metres (33 ft) down to 120 metres (390 ft) and can reach a diameter of 1.8 metres. It is typically brownish-red to brownish-gray in color, with a hard or stony texture. The giant barrel sponge has been called the "redwood of the reef" because of its size and estimated lifespan of hundreds to a thousand or more years. It is perhaps the best-studied species of sponge in the sea; a population on Conch Reef, in the Florida Keys, has been monitored and studied since 1997.
Xestospongia testudinaria is a species of barrel sponge in the family Petrosiidae. More commonly known as Giant Barrel Sponges, they have the basic structure of a typical sponge. Their body is made of a reticulation of cells aggregate on a siliceous scaffold composed of small spikes called spicules. Water is taken into the inner chamber of the sponge through ostia. Flagellated choanocytes line the inner chamber and help generate water currents through the sponge.
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.
Synalpheus carpenteri is a species of sponge-dwelling snapping shrimp described in 2006 from specimens collected from the Belizean Barrier Reef of the Exuma Islands, Bahamas, and the Atlantic coast of Panama. Its most identifying characteristic is the faint to bright orange overall color of the body. The species is named in honor of Michael Carpenter, Caribbean Coral Reef Ecosystem program, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
Cliona delitrix is a species of burrowing demosponge belonging to the family Clionaidae. It is found in shallow water in the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico.
Agelas is a genus of sea sponge in the class Demospongiae.
Agelas schmidti, commonly known as the brown tubular sponge, is a species of demosponge. It occurs at moderate depths in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea and often has a colonial coral growing over the surface. The type locality is Puerto Rico.
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.
Mycale laevis, the orange icing sponge or orange undercoat sponge, is a species of marine demosponge in the family Mycalidae. Mycale is a large genus and this species is placed in the subgenus Mycale making its full name, Mycale (Mycale) laevis. This sponge is found in the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico and usually grows in association with one of a small number of species of coral.
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 proxima is a species of marine petrosiid sponge native to the tropical and subtropical waters of the western Atlantic Ocean.
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 & Rob van Soest in 1996, the type location being the Greater Antilles.
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.
Calcifibrospongiidae is a family of sponges belonging to the order Haplosclerida. The order Haplosclerida is distinguished by isodictyal skeleton. In general, Porifera are basal animals with bodies full of pores and channels. Calcifibrospongiidae includes the species Calcifibrospongia actinostromarioides. There have only been ten recorded occurrences of this species: in Hogsty Reef and San Salvador, as well as in the subtropics of the Bahamas.