Diagnosis

Encrusting or massive subspherical growth forms. Basal skeleton composed of a mass of aragonitic sclerodermites, which are either spherulitic and intracellularly secreted, or clinogonal and extracellularly secreted. Living tissue organized as in typical Demospongiae, forming a veneer on the surface of the basal skeleton and extending down into calicular skeletal units, cylindrical, meandroid or irregular in form. No tabulae between the tissue-filled external skeleton and the interior interskeletal spaces, which are generally filled in solidly with secondary calcium carbonate deposits. Siliceous spicules acanthostyles or acanthostrongyles with verticillate spines, more rarely smooth styles, sometimes secondarily lost, secondarily entrapped into the calcareous skeleton.

ID Keys

(1)Calcareous skeleton with spherulitic microstructure -------------------------Astrosclera
Calcareous skeleton with clinogonal microstructure --------------------------------------------- 2

(2)Calcareous skeleton with regular calicular units --------------------------Ceratoporella
Calcareous skeleton irregular or meandriform ---------------------------------------------------- 3

(3)Siliceous spicules smooth styles -----------------------------------------------Hispidopetra
Siliceous spicules verticillate acanthostyles or acanthostrongyles ----------------------------- 4

(4)Encrusting on serpulid tubes ---------------------------------------------Stromatospongia
Pedunculate and auriculiform, non associated with serpulid ------------------Goreauiella

Diagnosis References

Vacelet, J. 2002. Family Astroscleridae Lister, 1900. pp. 824-830 in Hooper, J.N.A. & van Soest, R.W.M. (eds). Systema Porifera: A guide to the classification of sponges. New York : Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers Vol. 1. [824]

General References

Chombard, C., Boury Esnault, N., Tillier, A. & Vacelet, J. 1997. Polyphyly of 'Sclerosponges' (Porifera, Demospongiae) supported by 28S ribosomal sequences. Biological Bulletin. Marine Biological Laboratory (Woods Hole) 193(3): 359-367

Hartman, W.D. & Goreau, T.F. 1972. Ceratoporella (Porifera: Sclerospongiae) and the chaetetid 'corals'. Transactions of the Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences 44: 133–148

Vacelet, J. 1985. 1. Coralline sponges and the evolution of Porifera. pp. 1-13 in Conway-Morris, S., George, J.D., Gibson, R. & Platt, H.M. (eds). The Origin and Relationships of Lower Invertebrates. Systematics Association Special Vol. 28. Oxford : Clarendon Press.

Vacelet, J. 2002. Family Astroscleridae Lister, 1900. pp. 824-830 in Hooper, J.N.A. & van Soest, R.W.M. (eds). Systema Porifera: A guide to the classification of sponges. New York : Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers Vol. 1.

van Soest, R.W.M. 2002. Family Agelasiidae Verrill, 1907. pp. 819-823 in Hooper, J.N.A. & van Soest, R.W.M. (eds). Systema Porifera: A guide to the classification of sponges. New York : Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers Vol. 1.

Woerheide, G. 1998. The reef cave dwelling ultraconservative coralline demosponge Astrosclera willeyana Lister, 1900 from the Indo-Pacific. Facies 38: 1-88

History of changes

• Astrosclera Lister, J.J. 1900. Astrosclera willeyana, the type of a new family of sponges. Willey's Zoological Results 4: 459-482 pls 45-48 [479].

  Type species:

   Astrosclera willeyana Lister, 1900 by original designation.

Distribution

States

Queensland

Extra Distribution Information

From the Red Sea, Indian Ocean to French Polynesia, W Pacific.

IMCRA

Christmas Island Province (23), Northeast Shelf Province (40), Northeast Shelf Transition (41)

Distribution References

Diagnosis

Massive growth form. Meandroid or reticulate calcareous skeleton in aragonite, composed of spherulitic sclerodermites of intracellular origin and further epitaxial growth. Living tissue inside the irregular lacunae of the superficial calcareous skeleton. Superficial canals etching an astrorhizal system on the surface of the calcareous skeleton. Siliceous styles of variable shape, often echinating the calcareous skeleton, sometimes absent.

ID Keys

See Family Astroscleridae Diagnosis

Diagnosis References

Vacelet, J. 2002. Family Astroscleridae Lister, 1900. pp. 824-830 in Hooper, J.N.A. & van Soest, R.W.M. (eds). Systema Porifera: A guide to the classification of sponges. New York : Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers Vol. 1. [825]

History of changes

• Astrosclera willeyana Lister, J.J. 1900. Astrosclera willeyana, the type of a new family of sponges. Willey's Zoological Results 4: 459-482 pls 45-48 [459] [redescribed by Ayling, A.L. 1982. A redescription of Astrosclera willeyana Lister, 1900 (Ceratoporellida, Demospongiae), a new record from the Great Barrier Reef. Memoirs of the National Museum of Victoria 43: 99–103 (100)].

  Type data:

   Syntype(s) BMNH unknown (egaz), Sandal Bay, Lifu, Loyalty Ils and Funafuti [8°23'49"S 179°04'40"E].

Distribution

States

Queensland

IMCRA

Christmas Island Province (23), Northeast Shelf Province (40), Northeast Shelf Transition (41)

Ecological Descriptors

Filter-feeder, marine, sessile.

Extra Ecological Information

Cryptic reefal habitats, depth 6–53 m.

General References

Ayling, A.L. 1982. A redescription of Astrosclera willeyana Lister, 1900 (Ceratoporellida, Demospongiae), a new record from the Great Barrier Reef. Memoirs of the National Museum of Victoria, Melbourne 43: 99-103 [100] (new Australian record)

Böhm, F., Joachimski, M.M., Dullo, W.-C., Eisenhauer, A., Lehnert, H., Reitner, J. & Wörheide, G. 2000. Oxygen isotope fractionation in marine aragonite of coralline sponges. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 64: 1695-1703 [1695]

Erpenbeck, D., List-Armitage, S., Alvarez, B., Degnan, B.M., Wörheide, G. & Hooper, J.N.A. 2007. The systematics of Raspailiidae (Demospongiae: Poecilosclerida: Microcionina) re-analysed with a ribosomal marker. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 87: 1571–1576 [1573]

Fallon, S.J., McCulloch, M.T. & Hooper, J.N.A. 1999. Trace element and stable isotope profiles from the coralline sponge (Astrosclera willeyana). Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 44: 1174-174 [174] (Listed in this article)

Holmes, B. & Blanch, H. 2007. Genus-specific associations of marine sponges with group I crenarchaeotes. Marine Biology 150: 759-772

Hooper, J.N.A., Kennedy, J.A., List-Armitage, S.E., Cook, S.D. & Quinn, R. 1999. Biodiversity, species composition and distribution of marine sponges in Northeast Australia. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 44: 263-274 [264] (Listed in this article)

Jahn, T., Koenig, G.M., Wright, A.D., Woerheide, G. & Reitner, J. 1997. Manzacidin D — an unprecedented secondary metabolite from the living fossil sponge Astrosclera willeyana. Tetrahedron Letters 38: 3883-3884 [3883]

Thiel, V., Blumenberg, M., Hefter, J., Pape, T., Pomponi, S.A., Reed, J., Reitner, J., Wörheide, G. & Michaelis, W. 2002. A chemical view on the most ancestral metazoa - biomarker chemotaxonomy of hexactinellid sponges. Naturwissenschaften 89: 60-66 [61]

Van Oppen, M.J.H., Wörheide, G. & Takabayashi, M. 2002. Nuclear markers in evolutionary and population genetic studies of scleractinian corals and sponges. Proceedings of the 9th International Coral Reef Symposium, Bali 1: 131-138 [134]

Wörheide, G. & Reitner, J. 1999. Biocalcification in the Indo-Pacific coralline demosponge Astrosclera willeyana Lister — the role of basopinacoderm. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 44: 666-666 [666] (Listed in this article)

Wörheide, G. & Reitner, J. 1999. Biogeography and taxonomy of the reef cave dwelling coralline demosponge Astrosclera willeyana throughout the Indo-Pacific. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 44: 666 [650]

History of changes