Family HEMIASTERELLIDAE Lendenfeld, 1889

Hemiaterellidae

© Copyright Leonie G. Hooper.

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Diagnosis

Encrusting, cup-shaped, arborescent or branching growth forms; megascleres are styles (in one genus acanthostyles), oxeas or both enclosed within axially compressed spongin fibres, or basally compressed in encrusting taxa, and plumose to plumoreticulate extra-axial branches, or sometimes without a definite axis; bouquets of smaller styles and/or oxeas sometimes protrude through surface; microscleres are euasters, smooth or partially microspined, often confined to an ectosomal crust.

ID Keys

KEY TO GENERA
(1) Axial skeleton poorly differentiated, plumo-reticulate skeleton ------------------------------------- Hemiasterella
Axial skeleton well developed, compressed reticulate ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 2
Axial skeleton lacking, but with a basal hymedesmioid skeleton ------------------------------------------------------------ 4

(2) Cortex poorly developed, with only a light crust of euasters (with smooth or spined rays, with oxeote, strongylote or tylote terminations) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3
Cortex well developed, with a thick crust of hexaradiate to cruciform euasters (anthasters) with thick heavily spined rays, confined mainly to the peripheral region -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Axos

(3) Microscleres euasters with thin strongylote or tylote rays, usually curved or sinuous, often branched, smooth or spined rays with small centrum ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Adreus
Microscleres short rayed oxyspheraster euasters with entirely smooth rays and thick centrum ----------- Stelligera

(4) Choanosomal megascleres tylostyles erect on substratum ------------------------------------------------ Paratimea
Choanosomal megascleres acanthostyles erect on substratum --------------------------------------------- Leptosastra

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. [186]

General References

Bergquist, P.R. 1978. Sponges. London : Hutchinson 268 pp. 12 pls 81 figs 15 tables.

Brien, P., Lévi, C., Sarà, M., Tuzet, O. & Vacelet, J. 1973. Spongiaires. pp. 1-716 485 figs in Grassé, P.P. (ed.). Traité de Zoologie. Anatomie, Systématique, Biologie. Paris : Masson et Cie Vol. 3(1).

Hartman, W.D. 1982. Porifera. pp. 640-666 in Parker, S.P. (ed.). Synopsis and Classification of Living Organisms. New York : McGraw-Hill Vol. 1.

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

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.

Lendenfeld, R. von 1889. A Monograph of the Horny Sponges. London : Trübner & Co. 936 pp. 17 figs 50 pls.

Sorokin, S.J., Ekins, M.G., Yang, Q. & Cárdenas, P. 2019. A new deep-water Tethya (Porifera, Tethyida, Tethyidae) from the Great Australian Bight and an updated Tethyida phylogeny. European Journal of Taxonomy 529: 1–26

Voultsiadou-Koukoura, E. & Soest, R.W.M. Van 1991. Hemiastrella aristoteliana n.sp. (Porifera, Hadromerida) from the Aegean Sea with a discussion on the family Hemiasterellidae. Bijdragen tot de Dierkunde 61(1): 43-49

Wiedenmayer, F. 1977. Shallow-water Sponges of the Western Bahamas. Basel : Birkhäuser (Experientia Suppl. 28) 287 pp. 43 pls.

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