Family LATRUNCULIIDAE Topsent, 1922

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Introduction

Latrunculiidae Topsent, 1922 (including Podospongiidae de Laubenfels, 1936) includes sponges ranging from encrusting, massive, cylindrical to branching morphology, often with special pore areas; oscula elevated on papillae, or pore sieve-plates lying on the surface in deep furrows. Their megascleres are styles, oxeas or strongyles (Hooper & Wiedenmayer 1994: figs 5, 6, 8, 17–19), radial tracts at the surface, with axial orientation in stalked forms and more confused tracts in the choanosome of massive forms. Microscleres are peculiar discorhabds (bearing either two whorls of spines, two or three disks on a straight or spined axial rod, and with one swollen spined end, both ends spined, or both ends smooth); the discorhabds are often aggregated into a dense ectosomal crust (Hooper & Wiedenmayer 1994: figs 95–98). Anisochelae also occur in one genus (Barbozia; Hooper & Wiedenmayer 1994: fig. 73) indicating possible poeciloscleridan rather than hadromeridan affinities (although it is also possible that discorhabds in Barbozia are not homologous with those of other latrunculiids).

Members of this family are widely distributed and range from depths of about 25 to 2460 m (Hartman 1982). Six genera are presently included in the family, one of which (Sanidastra) is from freshwater; four genera have published Australian records.

The family is reviewed in Topsent (1928) and Brien et al. (1973; in Poecilosclerida), in Bergquist (1978) and Hartman (1982; in Hadromerida), in Van Soest (1984; incertae sedis) and Kelly-Borges & Vacelet (1995; Poecilosclerida, in part).

Diagnosis

Massive encrusting, hemispherical, spherical or pedunculate sponges with areolate porefields and raised fistular oscules; surface smooth and velvety between fistules; texture leathery and barely compressible when in preservative, whole animal generally very dense with heavy uniform body mass. Colour in life typically brownish black with forest-green or blue tinges, liquorice brown, fawn, or forest green (Latrunculia, Strongylodesma, Tsitsikamma), or pale beige to white (Sceptrella). Structural megascleres are anisostyles or strongyles, rarely oxeas, these are frequently slightly irregular, sinuous, forming a compact tangential layer under the ectosome, and a wide-meshed reticulation in the choanosome. Microscleres are acanthodiscorhabds bearing apical and basal whorls of spines (apical whorl and manubrium) and several crenulate discs (subsidiary and median whorls) in between, typically arranged in a compact palisade of single perpendicular spicules, their bases buried in the ectosomal membrane. Based on the observation of larvae in Latrunculia citharistae by Vacelet (1969), we conclude that the Latrunculiidae are viviparous. Latrunculia, Strongylodesma, and Tsitsikamma are known to contain biologically active discorhabdins and their derivatives. Bathymetric distribution is shallow sublittoral to bathybenthic. Biogeographic distribution is polar to warm temperate with centres of diversity and abundance in southern hemisphere temperate regions for Latrunculia and Tsitsikamma, southern and northern warm temperate to tropical regions for Strongylodesma, and northern hemisphere temperate regions for Sceptrella.

ID Keys

KEY TO GENERA
(1) Megascleres anisostyles, microscleres present ............................................................................ 2
Megascleres strongyles ........................................................................................................... 4

(2) Microscleres present --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3
Microscleres absent ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Strongylodesma

(3) Anisodiscorhabds with spined apical whorl and manubrium, and disc-shaped median and subsidiary whorls ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Latrunculia
Isoconicodiscorhabds with crenulated apical whorl, and conical or furcate whorls of spines ------------- Sceptrella
Isochiadiscorhabds with cylindrical terminally acanthose truncate tubercles --------------------------- Tsitsikamma

Diagnosis References

Kelly, M. & Samaai, T. 2002. Family Latrunculiidae Topsent, 1922. pp. 708-720 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. [708]

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.

Kelly-Borges, M. & Vacelet, J. 1995. A revision of Diacarnus Burton and Negombata de Laubenfels (Demospongiae: Latrunculiidae) with descriptions of new species from the west central Pacific and the Red Sea. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 38(2): 477-503

Topsent, E. 1928. Spongiaires de l'Atlantique et de la Méditerranée provenant des croisières du Prince Albert Ier de Monaco. Résultats des Campagnes Scientifiques accomplies par le Prince Albert I. Monaco 74: 1-376 11 pls

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

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