Lelapiella nodusgordii La

LEUCALTIS NODUSGORDII (POLÉJAEFF, 1883)

(FIGS 13, 14; TABLE 6)

Synonyms: Heteropegma nodusgordii Poléjaeff, 1883: 45 (only the Torres Strait specimens); von Lendenfeld, 1885: 1107 (only the Australian specimens); Dendy, 1892: 113; Dendy, 1905: 230; Jenkin, 1908: 453. Leucaltis bathybia var. mascarenica Ridley, 1884: 628 (to be confirmed). Clathrina latitubulata Carter, 1886: 515 (to be confirmed). Heteropegma latitubulata Dendy, 1892: 114 (to be confirmed). Leucaltis clathria Dendy, 1913: 16; Dendy & Frederick, 1924: 483; Hôzawa, 1940: 136; Tanita, 1943: 393; Lévi, 1998: 75; Wörheide & Hooper, 1999: 876; Borojević & Klautau, 2000: 190. Leuconia paloensis (non Tanita, 1943), Colin & Arneson, 1995: 61; Gosliner et al., 1996: 17; Erhardt & Baensch, 1998: 21. Leucaltis nodusgordii Van Soest & De Voogd, 2015: 39, 2018: 66.

Type locality: Torres Strait, Australia.

M a t e r i a l e x a m i n e d: U F R J P O R 8 9 3 0 (= 171109- PAE2 - TP4). Photos: TP6029–6039. Passe de l’Hermitage Reef, La Réunion, Indian Ocean, coll. T. Pérez, 9 November 2017, 18– 20 m depth.

Colour: White alive and light beige after fixation (Fig. 13A, B).

Morphology and anatomy: Sponge formed by large, individualized, anastomosed tubes (Fig. 13A, B). Each tube has its own cortex. Oscula located at the top of elevated tubes (Fig. 13A, B). The specimen was full of reproductive elements (Fig. 13C, D). The aquiferous system is composed of irregular, elongated and ramified choanocyte chambers (Fig. 13D). There is a thick cortex composed of large triactines and tetractines, tangential to the surface (Fig. 13D, E). The choanosome has few spicules, tiny triactines and tetractines (Fig. 13D). The apical actine of the cortical tetractines penetrates the choanosome and, sometimes, the atrium. The atrial skeleton is composed of tiny triactines and tetractines (Fig. 13F).