Family CRAMBEIDAE Levi, 1963

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Introduction

The family Crambiidae Lévi, 1963, with the name emended from Crambidae Lévi, 1963, a junior homonym of Crambidae Latreille, 1810 (Insecta: Lepidoptera), contains a small but widely distributed fauna worldwide, of which the best known is Crambe. Members of this family are encrusting or massive in their growth forms. Their ectosomal megascleres consist of smooth subtylostyles, usually standing perpendicular to surface. The choanosomal skeleton is composed of smooth or acanthose choanosomal megascleres, usually styles (Hooper & Wiedenmayer 1994: fig. 17) or tylostyles (Hooper & Wiedenmayer 1994: fig. 21) , forming hymedesmoid, plumose or plumoreticulate skeletal structures, and some genera retain a secondary interlocking desma (Hooper & Wiedenmayer 1994: figs 47-63) ('sublithistid') skeleton. Microscleres are anchorate (Hooper & Wiedenmayer 1994: fig. 68) or unguiferous isochelae (Hooper & Wiedenmayer 1994: fig. 69).

Nine nominal genera are included in this family, of which only six are probably valid and only one of these has yet been recorded in the Australian fauna.

Reviews are provided by Vosmaer (1880), Lévi (1963), Vacelet et al. (1976), Van Soest (1984), Bergquist & Fromont (1988) and Uriz (1988).

Diagnosis

Encrusting, massive, ramose or tubular growth forms. Ectosomal megascleres consist of smooth subtylostyles, usually arranged in brushes or bundles perpendicular to surface. Choanosomal megascleres are smooth or acanthose stylestylostyles forming hymedesmioid, plumose or plumoreticulate skeletal structures. Peculiar desma-like spicules, likened to astroclones and sphaeroclones, occur in two genera. Microscleres consist of spatulate or unguiferate anchorate isochelae, occasionally modified to sigma-like reduced forms which in some species cannot be distinguished from true sigmas; finely spined microxeas occur in some species of three genera.

ID Keys

KEY TO GENERA
(1) Megascleres include short, spined, club-shaped pseudastrose tylostyles ------------------------- Discorhabdella
No short club-shaped acanthostyles ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2

(2) Spicules include desmas or irregular desmoid polyaxones (the latter may be rare) --------------------------------- 3
No desmas or desmoid polyaxones --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4

(3) Desmas are elongate monocrepids forming a reticulated choanosomal skeleton ----------------------- Lithochela
Desmas are small polyaxone or lumpy-lobate spicules concentrated at the base of the sponge ------------- Crambe

(4) Live appearance includes white-lined veinal channel patterns ------------------------------------------ Monanchora
Live appearance with unlined veinal patterns ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Crambe

Diagnosis References

van Soest, R.W.M. 2002. Family Crambeidae Lévi, 1963. pp. 547-555 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. [547]

General References

Bergquist, P.R. & Fromont, J. 1988. The marine fauna of New Zealand: Porifera, Demospongiae, Part 4 (Poecilosclerida). New Zealand Oceanographic Institute Memoir 96: 1-197 pls 1-57

Lévi, C. 1963. Spongiaires d'Afrique du Sud, (1) Poecilosclérides. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa 37: 1-72 75 figs pls 1-10

Uriz, M.J. 1988. Deep-water sponges from the continental shelf and slope off Namibia (Southwest Africa): classes Hexactinellida and Demospongia. Monografías de Zoología Marina 3: 9-157

Vacelet, J., Vasseur, P. & Lévi, C. 1976. Spongiaires de la pente externe des récifs coralliens de Tuléar (Sud-Ouest de Madagascar). Mémoires du Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris [1936-1950] ns A 49: 1-116 78 figs pls 1-10

van Soest, R.W.M. 1984. Marine sponges from Curaçao and other Caribbean localities. Part III. Poecilosclerida. Studies on the Fauna of Curaçao and other Caribbean Islands 66(199): 1-167 pls 1-10

Vosmaer, G.C.J. 1880. The sponges of the Leyden Museum. I. The family of the Desmacidinae. Notes from the Leyden Museum 2: 99-164

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