Haliclona (Soestella) mamillata (Griessinger, 1971)

(Figure 17)

Haliclona mamillata Griessinger, 1971: 132, fig. 5b, 6c, j, pl. 1, fig. 3,

Haliclona (Soestella) mamillata, de Weerdt, 2000: 7.

Material examined: ESFM-POR / 2017-505, S12, 15 m, on stone, 1 specimen.

Description: Specimens are in massive form and have a height of 3 cm. Its color changes to brown in alcohol. The body is fragile and soft. Osculum (diameter: 2–5 mm) are located on volcano-like projections. (Figure 17a) The outer surface is smooth. The curved oxea (130–200 × 5–10 μm) that make up the skeleton are slender and pointed (Figure 17b). Both the ectosomal and choanosomal skeletons tend to form circular networks (Figure 17c). The spongin is present only at the contact points of the spicules.

Habitat and distribution: This species is found on cave walls at a depth of 25 m (Lent & de Weerdt 1987), It was recorded on Peyssonnelia and Vidalia volubilis at a depth of 30–40 m (Griessinger 1971) and on stones at a depth of 45 m (Pansini 1987). It is an endemic species to the Mediterranean (de Voogd et al. 2024), known from the Adriatic (Griessinger 1971), Aegean (Griessinger 1971), Ionian (Pansini 1987) and Ligurian (Lent and Weerdt 1987, Griessinger 1971) Seas. This is a new record for the marine fauna of Türkiye.