A guide to the deep-water sponges of - NMFS Scientific Publications ...

112. Haliclona sp. 2
Description. This sponge is flabellate; single- or multiplaned.
Oscula are conspicuous, slightly elevated and
scattered over the entire surface. It is extremely slimy,
even in preservative. Consistency is very soft and elastic.
Height and width are to 20 cm. Color in life is yellowish
brown to light brown, but appears characteristically
white in situ.
Skeletal structure. Ectosomal tangential unispicular
reticulation is strengthened by large quantities of
spongin which covers the sponge like a perforated
plate. Choanosomal paucispicular tracts are connected
by single spicules to unispicular reticulation of oxeas
(180–230 × 5–12 µm).
Zoogeographic distribution. In Alaska – locally abundant
in central Aleutian Islands.
Habitat. Attached principally to bedrock, but occasionally
to boulders and cobbles at depths between 74
and 195 m; more common at depths shallower than
120 m.
Remarks. This species might represent an undescribed
species. It is similar in growth form to Haliclona
cinerea and displays the slime strands previously regarded
as diagnostic for the species. However, H. cinerea has
smaller oxeas than this species and is known only from
shallow waters of the Celtic Seas Region of the North
Atlantic Ocean. This species may be preyed upon by the
blood star (Henricia sp.).
Photos. 1) Specimen collected at a depth of 80 m
in the central Aleutian Islands. Grid marks are 1 cm 2 .
2) Specimen (right) observed at 92 m in the central
Aleutian Islands.
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