Genus Axos Gray, 1867

Museums

Regional Maps

• Axos Gray, J.E. 1867. Notes on the arrangement of sponges, with the description of some new genera. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1867: 492-558 pls 27-28 [546].

  Type species:

   Axos cliftoni Gray, 1867 by monotypy.
• Echinospongia Gray, J.E. 1870. Note on a new genus of sponge from West Australia. Annals and Magazine of Natural History 4 6: 272 [272].

  Type species:

   Echinospongia australis Gray, 1870 by monotypy.

Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy

• Hooper, J.N.A. 1986. Revision of the marine sponge genus Axos Gray (Demospongiae: Axinellida) from Northwest Australia. The Beagle. Occasional Papers of the Northern Territory Museum of Arts and Sciences 3(1): 167-189 pl. 1 [171]

Distribution

States

Northern Territory, Western Australia

IBRA and IMCRA regions

IMCRA

Timor Transition (1), Northern Shelf Province (25), Northwest Shelf Transition (26), Northwest Shelf Province (27)

Diagnosis

Cylindrical branching and flabelliform growth forms with prominent surface conules; well developed compressed axial skeleton composed of styles; extra-axial skeleton composed of radial spicule tracts of the same styles perpendicular to the axis and protruding into surface conules; asters hexaradiate to cruciform with thick heavily spined rays (anthasters), confined mainly to the peripheral region forming a thick crust.

ID Keys

See Family Hemiasterellidae Diagnosis.

Diagnosis References

Hooper, J.N.A. 2002. Family Hemiasterellidae Lendenfeld, 1889. pp. 186-195 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. [187]

History of changes