Grantia ciliata var. spinispiculum Carter 1876

Grantia ciliata var. spinispiculum Carter, 1876

(Fig. 10F)

Grantia ciliata var. spinispiculum Carter, 1876: 468, pl. XII figs. 6–8; Carter 1884: 153, pl. VIII.

Sycandra coronata var. spinispiculum; Fristedt 1885: 11.

Sycon ciliatum var. spinispiculum; Arndt 1935: 11, fig. 13; Alander 1942: 83.

The variety was described by Carter from Shetland, 60.4167°N 0.9887°E, depth 117–137 m (syntypes three slides made by Carter, BMNH 1954.3.9.615, 616 & 622). The typical variety described by Fabricius (1780: 448, as Spongia) from Greenland (no further locality data, type material lost, cf. Rapp 2015: 1418) is largely similar but differs in the absence of the characteristic spined diactines protruding from the distal cones. Also the radial tubes are almost entirely fused in the variety spinispiculum, whereas the typical variety has them almost entirely free from each other. Although the cited authors did not attempt to identify the variety with any of the known Northeast Atlantic Sycon species, Carter (1884) suggested that the structure and spicule shapes and size data could not be distinguished from Sycon raphanus Schmidt, 1862 (from the Dalmate coast, Adriatic, approximate coordinates 43.83°N 15.47°E, no depth provided, type material BMNH 1867.7.26.5 with slide BMNH 1867.3.11.75), including the rather rare spined diactines in the bundles protruding from the distal cones. Topsent (1937a: 3–5) discussed this also and appeared to agree with Carter’s suggestion. Accordingly, I propose to reassign the variety as a junior synonym of Sycon raphanus Schmidt, 1862.