Mycale (Carmia) cf. toxifera (Dendy, 1896)

Esperella toxifer Dendy, 1896: 16

Carmia toxifera; Lévi 1963: 12, pl. 1C, text-fig. 7.

Mycale (Carmia) cf. toxifera; Calcinai et al. 2013: 44, figs 28A–G.

Mycale (Carmia) spec. Calcinai et al. 2013: 46, figs 29A–F.

Summary description and comments. From South East Australia, outside our regional limits, Dendy (1896) described cushion-shaped sponges with small oscules and fibrous skeleton, colored ochre in life. Mycalostyles 200 x 4 µm, anisochelae 10 µm, sigmas (rare) 12 µm, toxas 95 µm. Slightly outside our regional limit, Lévi reported massive yellow-colored Carmia toxifera from the central south coast of South Africa. Lévi’s material had mycalostyles, 210–225 x 3–7 µm, anisochelae, 10–11 µm, sigmas (rare), 16 µm and toxas (rare), 75–110 µm. The two descriptions by Calcinai et al. (2013) are apparently considered two different species. The unnamed brown-orange specimen from Indonesia (N Sulawesi), depth 7 m, was a very thin crust on an octocoral (Carijoa rissei). No specialized ectosomal skeleton. Plumose tracts of mycalostyles and scattered microscleres. Spicules include mycalostyles, 125–212.5 x 2 µm, anisochelae 12.5–17.5 µm and long thin symmetrical toxas with central inflexion, 62–380 µm. The authors refrained from naming the material as the preservation apparently was insufficient. If the spicule package that is described is the full complement, then it is possibly an undescribed species, although it is possible that it is a reduced specimen of Mycale (Carmia) toxifera lacking sigmas. There is an additional description of a thinly encrusting dull-orange to ochre Mycale (Carmia) cf. toxifera by Calcinai et al. from Hawaii, resembling the above specimen, but which included longer mycalostyles, 130–245 x 2–2.5 µm, anisochelae, 10–16 µm, sigmas, 17–32 µm and toxas 45–212 µm. Possibly, this is a more elaborate member of the same insufficiently known species, as Dendy and Lévi report sigmas and toxas being rare. If these assignments as the same species are correct, it indicates that this could be a widespread species in the region.