Lissodendoryx diversichela

Lundbeck, 1905

Species Overview

Lissodendoryx diversichela Lundbeck, 1905 is a light coloured, irregular leaf-shaped sponge with a smooth surface and crumbly consistency. It is similar to L . lundbecki , but differs in details of spiculation (microscopic examination). It has characteristic spiculation with three size categories of chelae. It is a deep water sponge occurring in the North Atlantic and the Arctic.

Taxonomic Description

Colour: Bright yellow in alcohol.
Shape, size, surface and consistency: Leaf-shaped, with smooth surface. Size up to 4.5 cm high. Oscules and pores on opposite sites of the leaf. Consistency rather firm, but easily damaged and crumbly.
Spicules: Megascleres : Ectosomal tornotes sub-tylote, sharp pointed or mucronate, slightly inequiended: 238-280 µm; acanthostyles, rather densely spined: 340-429 µm.
Microscleres : Arcuate isochelae, evenly curved shafts, in three size categories: 47-71 µm, 18-28 µm, and 10-15 µm; sigmas in two size categories: 85 µm and 28 µm.
Skeleton: Ectosomal : Tornotes form brushes at the surface. The choanosomal skeleton is an irregular isotropic reticulation of bundles of acanthostyles, which also form longitudinal tracts.
Ecology: Deep water, 49-1441 m.
Distribution: Norway, Iceland; Arctic.
Type specimen information: The type is in the Copenhagen Museum.

Remarks

This species is similar to L . lundbecki and it is not entirely impossible that both may prove to be synonymous, when more specimens will come available. For the time being the differences are emphasized: L . lundbecki has only two sizes of chelae, one of sigmas, and the tornotes are shorter.
The North Atlantic Lissodendoryx species are suspect Lissodendoryx because of the entirely spined styles and inequiended or mucronate tornotes; true Lissodendoryx , like L . isodictyalis , tend to have smooth or only sparingly spined styles and tylotes with prominent heads for tornotes. For the time being we prefer to keep them together, but eventually they may be distributed over different genera.
Source: Arndt, 1935.