Family CHALINIDAE Gray, 1867

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Family CHALINIDAE Gray, 1867

Compiler and date details

2010 - John N.A. Hooper, Queensland Museum, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia; Felix Wiedenmayer (1994), Naturhistorisches Museum Basel, Basel, Switzerland; updated by John N.A. Hooper (1999)

Introduction

Chalinids have encrusting, massive, cup-shaped, fan-shaped and branching growth forms, usually with spongy and delicate consistency. When present, the ectosomal skeleton consists of a special, tangential, unilayered, unispicular, isotrophic reticulation of oxeas bound by nodal spongin. The choanosomal skeleton consists of an isodictyal reticulation of uni- or paucispicular primary tracts of oxeas (Hooper & Wiedenmayer 1994: fig. 5), rarely multispicular, interconnected by uni- or paucispicular secondary tracts. The spicules are bonded together at their nodes of junction by small amounts of collagenous spongin, or they may be fully enclosed within light spongin fibres and form more robust reticulations. Microscleres, if present, include only sigmas (Hooper & Wiedenmayer 1994: figs 79, 80, 83) or toxas (Hooper & Wiedenmayer 1994: fig. 89). Parenchymella larvae are incubated and are completely and uniformly ciliated or have a bare posterior cap fringed by longer cilia. This family is predominantly marine, but some species (e.g. some Adocia) are known to invade freshwater habitats.

Chalinidae Gray, 1867 is adopted and defined in Lendenfeld (1887), Ridley & Dendy (1887), Topsent (1928) and de Weerdt (1986). It is the senior name for the group of genera Reniera, Gellius, Haliclona, Chalina and Adocia, all now regarded as synonyms of Haliclona (de Weerdt 1886, 1889) previously grouped under the junior names Renieridae Schmidt, 1870, Haliclonidae de Laubenfels, 1932, Gelliidae Gray, 1872 and Adociidae de Laubenfels, 1934.

There are over 20 nominal genera, particularly many names of Lendenfeld (e.g. 1887), but few of these are valid. Among the names of uncertain status applied to the Australian fauna are Cavochalina Carter, 1882, Paraspongia Carter, 1885 and Chalinorhaphis Lendenfeld, 1887; their types are unrecognisable. Revisions of Chalinidae have so far been unsatisfactory in that they deal with regional faunas only. Foremost amongst these are Griessinger (1971) studying Mediterranean species, Van Soest (1980) for Caribbean species, Bergquist & Warne (1980) for New Zealand species, de Weerdt (1986) and de Weerdt & Van Soest (1986) for north-eastern Atlantic species, and Burton (1934) and Fromont (1993) for northern Great Barrier Reef species. Each of these studies is invaluable for regional faunas because they include ecological data from live populations which enable differentiation between sibling species which is otherwise nearly impossible to achieve from preserved specimens. For this reason, it is doubtful if any satisfactory review of the world fauna can be undertaken from a study of preserved collections (the Australian fauna is no exception, with Lendenfeld's and other authors' species difficult or impossible to corroborate with living populations). These taxonomic difficulties also apply to some extent at the generic level: North Atlantic and Caribbean studies do not agree largely with those based on Australasian material. Undoubtedly, further valid chalinid genera will be recognised eventually, perhaps including, for example, the resurrection of some of the synonyms of Haliclona.

For the present, we must use an amalgamation of existing Chalinidae revisions to place Australian species, even though our brief review of many of the type specimens reveals that Haliclona in the sense of de Weerdt (1986) is both heterogeneous and unmanageable. Nevertheless, in this work we follow de Weerdt's decisions and recognise only five valid genera in the family: Haliclona, Acervochalina, Dendroxea, Cladocroce (which is incertae sedis and not dealt with by de Weerdt, 1986) and the hypercalcified sclerosponge Calcifibrospongia, which has a calcitic basal skeleton of spherulitic microstructure, together with free spicules producing a reticulate skeleton composed of strongyles. Two genera are known in the Australian fauna from published records.

Chalinidae includes some of the most widely distributed and abundant genera of shallow water sponges. Some species of Haliclona have been recorded as deep as 2460 m (Hartman 1982), but most other chalinid taxa are found predominantly in shallow waters. They are particularly common in the macrobenthos of coral reefs.

Diagnosis

Thickly encrusting, cushion-shaped, ramose or tubular growth forms, cushion-shaped sponges commonly with oscular chimneys or mounds. Consistency soft to rather firm, also spongy. Colour purple, violet, pink, brown, blue or green, occasionally white. Megascleres smooth oxeas or strongyles, microscleres, if present, sigmas, toxas, raphides or microxeas.

ID Keys

KEY TO GENERA
(1) At the basis of the sponge there is a densely reticulated mass of spicula, choanosomal skeleton consisting of almost plumose, branching spicular tracts, which thin out towards the surface --------------------------- Dendroxea
No densely reticulated mass of spicules at the basis of the sponge, choanosomal skeleton a rather delicate, iso- or anisotropic, ladder-like reticulation or consisting of multispicular fibre tracts with a rather dense subisotropic reticulation in between --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2

(2) Secondary lines of the choanosomal skeleton more than one spicule long ------------------------------ Chalinula
Secondary lines of the choanosomal skeleton one spicule long ----------------------------------------------------------- 3

(3) Skeleton consisting of multispicular fibre tracts with a rather dense subisotropic reticulation in between ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cladocroce
Skeleton iso-, subiso- or anisotropic, but without multispicular fibre tracts throughout the sponge ------ Haliclona