Skip to main content Skip to main navigation menu Skip to site footer
Type: Articles
Published: 2012-11-08
Page range: 41–51
Abstract views: 36
PDF downloaded: 1

Biodiversity assessment in the Lower Mekong basin: First record of the genus Oncosclera (Porifera: Spongillina: Potamolepidae) from the Oriental Region

Department of Science for Nature and Environmental Resources, Sassari University, Sassari, 07100 Italy
Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, 40002 Thailand
Department of Science for Nature and Environmental Resources, Sassari University, Sassari, 07100 Italy
Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, 40002 Thailand Applied Taxonomic Research Center, Faculty of Science, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, 40002 Thailand
Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, 40002 Thailand Applied Taxonomic Research Center, Faculty of Science, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, 40002 Thailand
Porifera Freshwater sponges Oncosclera asiatica sp. nov. Pong River Thailand Morphology SEM Taxonomy Biogeography

Abstract

Taxonomic richness of Thai Spongillina numbers so far seven species (five genera, one family). The first record of the genusOncosclera Volkmer-Ribeiro, 1970 belonging to the family Potamolepidae Brien, 1967 is here reported with the description ofa new species from the Pong River (NE Thailand, Oriental Region) in the framework of a biodiversity assessment in the LowerMekong Basin. An emended diagnosis of the genus is also provided. The new species, ascribed to the genus Oncosclera fordiagnostic traits of the skeleton and the gemmular architecture, differs from all the other known species of the genus in itsunique combination of diagnostic traits. O. asiatica sp. nov. is characterised by i) more or less alveolate skeleton, ii) conulosesurface with a network of branched subdermal canals, iii) acanthoxeas as dominant megascleres and less frequentacanthostrongyles, iv) gemmular theca sublaminar of compact spongin with a scantly developed pneumatic layer of fibrousspongin, and v) gemmuloscleres as acanthostrongyles from elongated to ovoid with tubercles/spines particularly dense towardsthe tips. Despite the extremely disjunct distribution O. asiatica is morphologically similar to O. intermedia and O. jewelli fromthe Neotropical Region and O. gilsoni from Pacific Islands, from which the former diverges for megascleres and/or gemmuloscleres traits.

References

  1. Annandale, N. (1908) Notes on freshwater sponges. VIII. Preliminary notice of a collection from western India with description of two new species. Records of the Indian Museum, 2, 25–28.

    Annandale, N. (1909a) Beiträge zur Kenntnis der Fauna von Süd-Afrika. Ergebnisse einer Reise von Prof. Max Weber im Jahre 1894. IX. Freshwater sponges. Zoologische Jahrbücher. Abteilung für Systematik, Geographie und Biologie der Tiere, 27(6), 559–568.

    Annandale, N. (1909b) Freshwater Sponges in the collection of the United States National Museum. Part I. Specimens from the Philippines and Australia. Proceedings of the United States National Museum, 36, 627–632.

    Annandale, N. (1918) Zoological results of a tour in the Far East. II. Freshwater sponges from Japan, China, and the Malay Peninsula. Memoirs of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, 6, 199–216.

    Batista, T.C.A. & Volkmer-Ribeiro, C. (2002) Comunidades de esponjas do curso superior dos rios Paraná (Goiás) e Paraguai (MatoGrosso), Brasil, com redescrição de Oncosclera schubarti (Bonetto & Ezcurra de Drago). Revista Brasileira de Zoologia, 19(1), 123–136.

    Bonetto, A.A. & Ezcurra, I.D. (1962) Dos nuevas esponjas para el Paraná medio. Physis, 23(65), 209–214.

    Bonetto, A.A. & Ezcurra de Drago, I.D. (1964) Esponjas del Paraná medio e inferior. Anales del II Congreso Latinoamericano de Zoología, 1, 245–260.

    Bonetto, A.A. & Ezcurra de Drago, I.D. (1967) Esponjas del noreste argentino. Acta Zoologica Lilloana, 23, 331–347.

    Bonetto, A.A. & Ezcurra de Drago, I.D. (1968) El género Spongilla Lamarck en el río Uruguay (Porifera, Spongillidae). Physis, 27(75), 429–436.

    Bonetto & Ezcurra de Drago, I.D. (1970) Esponjas de los afluentes del Alto Paraná en la provincia de Misiones. Acta Zoologica Lilloana, 27, 37–61.

    Bonetto, A.A. & Ezcurra de Drago, I.D. (1973) Aportes al conocimiento de las esponjas del Orinoco. Physis, 32(84), 19–27.

    Bowerbank, J.S. 1863. A monograph of the Spongillidae. Proceedings of the Zoological Society London, 1863, 440–473.

    Carter, H.J. (1849) A descriptive account of the freshwater sponges (genus Spongilla) in the Island of Bombay, with observations on their structure and development. The Annals and Magazine of Natural History, 4(2), 81–100.

    Carter, H. J. (1881) History and classification of the known species of Spongilla. The Annals and Magazine of Natural History, 5(7), 77–107.

    Carter, H.J. (1882) Spermatozoa, Polygonal Cell-structure, and the Green Colour in Spongilla, together with a new species. The Annals and Magazine of Natural History, 5(10), 362–372.

    Kirkpatrick, R. (1906) Report on the Porifera with notes on species from Nile and Zambesi. Zoological results of the third Tanganyika expedition by W.A. Cunnington, 1904–1905. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, 1, 218–227.

    Linnaeus, C. (1759) Systema naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus II. Editio decima, reformata. Laurentii Salvii, Holmiae, 561 pp.

    Lamarck, J.P.B. (1816) Histoire naturelle des Animaux sans vertèbres, Verdier, Paris, 568 pp.

    Manconi, R. & Pronzato, R. (2000) Rediscovery of the type material of Spongilla lacustris (L., 1759) from the Linnean Herbarium. Italian Journal of Zoology, 67(1), 89–92.

    Manconi, R. & Pronzato, R. (2002) Spongillina n. subord. Lubomirskiidae, Malawispongiidae n. fam., Metaniidae, Metschnikowiidae, Palaeospongillidae, Potamolepidae, Spongillidae. In: Hooper, J.N.A. & R.W.M. van Soest, (Eds.), Systema Porifera. A guide to the classification of sponges. Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publ., New York, pp. 921–1019.

    Manconi, R. & Pronzato, R. (2007) Gemmules as a key structure for the adaptive radiation of freshwater sponges: a morphofunctional and biogeographical study. In: Custódio, M.R., Lôbo-Hajdu, G., Hajdu, E. & Muricy, G. (Eds.), Porifera research: biodiversity, innovation and sustainability. Série Livros 28, Museu Nacional, Rio de Janeiro, pp. 61–77.

    Manconi, R. & Pronzato, R. (2008) Global diversity of sponges (Porifera: Spongillina) in freshwater. Hydrobiologia, 595, 27–33.

    Manconi, R. & Pronzato, R. (2009) Atlas of African freshwater sponges. Studies in Afrotropical Zoology, Vol. 295. Royal Museum for Central Africa, Tervuren, 214 pp.

    Matsuoka, T. & Masuda, Y. (2000) A new potamolepid freshwater sponge (Demospongiae) from the Miocene Nakamura Formation, central Japan. Paleontological Research, 4(2), 131–137.

    Penney, J.T. & Racek, A.A. (1968) Comprehensive revision of a worldwide collection of freshwater sponges (Porifera: Spongillidae). Bulletin of the United States National Museum, 272, 1–184.

    Potts, E. (1887) Contributions towards a synopsis of the American forms of fresh water sponges with descriptions of those named by other authors and from all parts of the world. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, 39(2), 158–279.

    Ruengsawang, N., Sangpradub, N., Hanjavanit, C. & R. Manconi (2012) Biodiversity assessment of the Lower Mekong Basin: A new species of Corvospongilla (Porifera: Spongillina: Spongillidae) from Thailand. Zootaxa 3320: 47–55.

    Rützler, K. (1968) Fresh-water sponges from New Caledonia. Cahiers de l’Office de la Recherche Scientifique et Technique d’Outre-Mer (Hydrobiologie), 2(1), 57–66.

    Stanisic, J. (1979) Freshwater sponges from the Northern Territory (Porifera: Spongillidae). Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, 103(2), 124–130.

    Stephens, J. (1919) Two new African freshwater sponges. Annals and Magazine of Natural History, 9(3), 94–100.

    Manconi, R. & R. Van Soest (2012) Oncosclera Volkmer-Ribeiro, 1970. In: Van Soest, R.W.M, Boury-Esnault, N., Hooper, J.N.A., Rützler, K, de Voogd, N.J., Alvarez de Glasby, B., Hajdu, E., Pisera, A.B., Manconi, R., Schoenberg, C., Janussen, D., Tabachnick, K.R., Klautau, M., Picton, B., Kelly, M., Vacelet, J., Dohrmann, M. (2012) World Porifera database. Accessed through: Van Soest, R.W.M, Boury-Esnault, N., Hooper, J.N.A., Rützler, K, de Voogd, N.J., Alvarez de Glasby, B., Hajdu, E., Pisera, A.B., Manconi, R., Schoenberg, C., Janussen, D., Tabachnick, K.R., Klautau, M., Picton, B., Kelly, M., Vacelet, J., Dohrmann, M. (2012) World Porifera database at http://www.marinespecies.org/porifera on 2012-09-28

    Topsent, E. (1912) Description de Spongilla (Stratospongilla) gilsoni n. sp., Éponge d’eau douce des Iles Fidji. Annales de Biologie lacustre. Bruxelles, 5, 1–5.

    Volkmer, C. (1963) Spongilla jewelli n. sp. from fresh-water sponge at Brazil. Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências, 35(2), 271–273.

    Volkmer-Ribeiro, C. (1970) Oncosclera - a new genus of freshwater sponges (Porifera-Spongillidae) with redescription of two species. Amazoniana, 2(4), 435–442.

    Volkmer-Ribeiro, C. (1979) Evolutionary study of genus Metania Gray, 1867 (Porifera-Spongillidae): I. The new species. Amazoniana, 6(4), 639–649.

    Volkmer-Ribeiro, C. (1986) Evolutionary study of genus Metania Gray, 1867: III. Metaniidae, new family. Amazoniana, 9(4), 493–509.

    Volkmer-Ribeiro, C. (2007) South American continental sponges: state of the art of the research. In: Custódio, M.R., Lôbo-Hajdu, G., Hajdu, E. & Muricy, G. (Eds.), Porifera research: biodiversity, innovation and sustainability. Série Livros 28, Museu Nacional, Rio de Janeiro, pp. 117–121.

    Volkmer-Ribeiro, C. & Costa, P.R.C. (1993) Redescription of the Oriental and Australian species of the genus Metania Gray, 1867 (Porifera: Metaniidae). Iheringia Ser. Zool., Porto Alegre, 74, 81–101.

    Volkmer-Ribeiro, C. & Pauls, S.M. (2000) Esponjas de agua dulce (Porifera, Demospongiae) de Venezuela. Acta Biologica Venezuelica, 20(1), 1–28.

    Volkmer-Ribeiro, C. & Rützler, K. (1997) Pachyrotula, a new genus of freshwater sponges from New Caledonia (Porifera: Spongillidae). Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington, 110(4), 489–501.

    Weber, M. (1890) Spongillidae des Indischen Archipels. Zoologische Ergebnisse einer Reise nach Niederlandisch Ost-Indien, 1, 30–47.

    Weltner, W. (1913) Süßwasserschwämme (Spongillide) der Deutschen Zentralafrika expedition 1907–1908. In: Schubotz (Ed.). Wissenschaftliche Ergebnisse der Deutschen Zentral-Afrika-Expedition 1907–1908, Klinkhardt & Biermann, Leipzig, 4, Zoologie, 475–485.