Eurypon lacazei

(Topsent, 1891a)

Species Overview

Eurypon lacazei (Topsent, 1891a) is a deep water species presumably with red colour and very hispid. Examination of the spicules is necessary. It occurs in deeper water.

Taxonomic Description

Colour: Presumably red.
Shape, size, surface and consistency: Thinly encrusting, strongly hispid surface due to styles projecting more than 3 mm beyond the ectosome.
Spicules: Tylostyles up to at least 3500 x 27 µm; acanthostyles 75-100 x 10 µm; oxeas 230 µm (Stephens, 1920: 300-400 x 7 µm).
Skeleton: Tylostyles and acanthostyles are erect on the substrate. Oxeas form brushes around the protruding styles.
Ecology: On pebbles, from 40 m downwards (?) to at least 600 m.
Distribution: Roscoff, Iles de Glénan, SW Ireland (?).
Etymology: Named after Dr De Lacaze-Duthiers, director of the Laboratoire Arago at Banyuls at the end of the previous century.
Type specimen information: The type is in the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris.

Remarks

The SW Ireland specimens reported by Stephens (1920) differ slightly from Mediterranean ones in the size of the ectosomal oxeas which apparently do not exceed 230 µm in the Mediterranean. The spicule sizes quoted by Stephens are only barely different from those of Eurypon major .
Source: Stephens, 1920.