Family TEDANIIDAE Ridley & Dendy, 1886

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Introduction

Tedaniidae Ridley & Dendy, 1886 are encrusting, massive or digitate sponges. The choanosomal skeleton is predominantly plumo-reticulate or even plumose, composed of tracts of smooth or spined styles (Hooper & Wiedenmayer 1994: fig. 17), or smooth oxeas (Hooper & Wiedenmayer 1994: fig. 5), enclosed within light or moderate spongin fibres, or with no visible fibres and spicules merely cemented together with collagen at their nodes. Ectosomal spicules are tylotes or tornotes (Hooper & Wiedenmayer 1994: figs 6, 7), usually with basal spines, lying tangentially, paratangentially or erect on the surface, although usually not in bundles. Microscleres are onychaetes (Hooper & Wiedenmayer 1994: fig. 111); chelae are absent.

Sponges of this family inhabit all seas, occurring from intertidal waters to depths of at least 3850 m (Hartman 1982). Ten nominal genera are included in the family, with seven of these probably valid although several are still poorly known. Published records of four genera are available for the Australian fauna.

Lévi in Brien et al. (1973) included the type genus of Tedaniinae in the Myxillidae, but mentioned the possible use of a separate family for this group. Bergquist & Fromont, 1988 expanded the diagnosis to allow for the inclusion of Tedaniopsis, which has diactinal choanosomal megascleres (and hence we have also expanded the above diagnosis). Subsequently the two families, Tedaniidae and Myxillidae, have been used interchangeably by various authors to include all those sponges having a tangential ectosomal skeleton of basally spined diactinal tornotes or tylotes (as opposed to smooth strongylotes or oxeotes found in the Coelosphaeridae) as the primary apomorphy. This was also the justification of Van Soest (1984) and Hooper (1987) for including Acarnus in the Myxillidae, as opposed to its inclusion in the Microcionidae (the latter based on similarities in microsclere complement). These authors consider that ectosomal features are most useful in differentiating several poecilosclerid families e.g. Microcionidae (which have tangential or erect monactinal ectosomal spicules), Raspailiidae (which have erect brushes of monactinal or diactinal spicules, surrounding a central larger spicule), and Myxillidae/Tedaniidae (with tangential tylotes, characteristically basally spined). However, in this work we follow Van Soest (1984) and others in recognising two families, Tedaniidae and Myxillidae. They can be differentiated as follows: Tedaniidae lacks isochelae microscleres, but has onychaetes, which are extremely thin, long, oxeote microscleres with a roughened surface, and the choansomal skeleton is predominantly plumo-reticulate or even plumose; Myxillidae has isochelae but not onychaetes, and has an almost exclusively reticulate choanosomal skeleton. The families share the apomorphic feature of an ectosomal skeleton composed of (usually) basally spined diactinal spicules, lying tangentially or sometimes erect on the surface.

The family is reviewed by Burton (1932, as Tedanieae, review of family and type genus); Bergquist (1978); Bergquist & Fromont (1988); Hartman (1982); and Van Soest (1984, provisionally as a subfamily in the Myxillidae); Desqueyroux-Faundez & Van Soest (1996).

Diagnosis

Encrusting, massive or digitate poecilosclerid sponges. Choanosomal skeleton predominantly plumo-reticulate or plumose, composed of tracts of smooth or spined monactinal megascleres, or smooth diactinal megascleres, enclosed within light or moderate spongin fibres, or with no visible fibres and spicules merely cemented together at their nodes. Occasionally fibres contain sand particles partly replacing spicules. Ectosomal spicules (tornotes) diactinal, tylotes or strongyles, with smooth or spined bases, lying tangential, paratangential or erect on the surface, although usually not in bundles. Microscleres onychaetes; chelae or sigmas absent.

ID Keys

KEY TO GENERA
(1) Megascleres are oxeas or strongyles of one type only ------------------------------------------------------------------ 2
Megascleres are differentiated in ectosomal (diactinal) and choanosomal spicules (usually monactinal, but in any case differently shaped from those of the ectosome) -------------------------------------------------------------------- Tedania

(2) Megascleres oxeas ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hemitedania
Megascleres thin strongyles ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Strongylamma

Diagnosis References

van Soest, R.W.M. 2002. Family Tedaniidae Ridley & Dendy, 1886. pp. 625-632 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. [625]

General References

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

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

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).

Burton, M. 1932. Sponges. Discovery Reports 6: 237-392 56 figs pls 48-57

Desqueyroux-Faundez, R. & van Soest, R.W.M. 1996. A review of Iophonidae, Myxillidae and Tedaniidae occurring in the South East Pacific (Porifera: Poecilosclerida). Revue Suisse de Zoologie 103: 3-79

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. 1987. New records of Acarnus Gray (Porifera: Demospongiae: Poecilosclerida) from Australia, with a synopsis of the genus. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 25(1): 71-105

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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