New records of the rare calcareous sponge Paragrantia waguensis Hôzawa, 1940

Collection: Pensoft Publishers

Keywords: Porifera · Topics: Marine Sponges and Natural Products, Microbial Natural Products and Biosynthesis, Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies

Paragrantia waguensis Hôzawa is reported from coastal reefs of the island of Okinawa. This rare species was previously known only from Central Japan, Mie Prefecture. It has peculiar apopylar tetractine spicules, so far unique among Calcarea. We present in situ images of the species and a full description including SEM images of skeletal structure and spicule complement. The status of Paragrantia as a separate genus of the family Grantiidae distinct from Grantia Fleming is confirmed on the basis of a morphological and molecular comparison with the European type species of Grantia, G. compressa (Fabricius).

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