Bulletin 20 - Peabody Museum of Natural History - Yale University

38 A SYSTEMATIC STUDY OF THE DEMOSPONGIAE OF JAMAICA
DISTRIBUTION. Tropical Atlantic America: Florida—Carter, 1884, p. 205 (as Reniera
digitata); Dry Tortugas, Florida—de Laubenfels, 1936a, p. 89; West coast, Florida—
Little, 1963, p. 48; Atlantic coast, Panama—de Laubenfels, 1936b, p. 459; Brazil—de
Laubenfels, 1956, p. 3; Bermuda—Ridley and Dendy, 1887, p. 51 (as Tedania digitata
bermudensis), Verrill, 1907, p. 339, de Laubenfels, 1950a, p. 69; Bahamas—Wilson, 1894,
p. 320 (as Tedania brucei), de Laubenfels, 1949, p. 16; Puerto Rico—Wilson, 1902a, p.
395 (as Tedania digitata), Lesser Antilles—St. Thomas—Duchassaing and Michelotti,
1864, p. 83 (as Thalysias ignis), Schmidt, 1870, p. 43 (as Tedania digitata)) Antigua—
Carter, 1882, p. 287 (as Reniera digitata); Curasao—Arndt, 1927, p. 146 (as Tedania
digitata); Turneffe Is. (West Indies)—Burton, 1954, p. 229 (as Tedania anhelans); Central
Pacific—de Laubenfels, 1954a, p. 129 (?); Hawaiian Is.—de Laubenfels, 1950b, p.
21, 1951a, p. 260 (?).
DISCUSSION. Specimens of Tedania with similar-sized spicules are widely distributed
in warm seas. Burton and Rao (1932) concluded that all were conspecific with the
Mediterranean sponge now known as Tedania anhelans (Lieberkiihn). De Laubenfels
(1936a, 1950a, and 1950b) maintained that the West Indian population was specifically
distinct from the European one, largely on the basis of differences in coloration and
style thickness. A review of the literature casts doubt on the latter criterion. The uniformity
of coloration in the West Indian examples of Tedania is most striking. For example,
all of the many dozens of Tedania ignis seen in a variety of shallow water habitats
over a two-year period in Jamaica had the same flame-red color. De Laubenfels noted
only three variants in a population of "literally thousands" at the Dry Tortugas. (1936a,
p. 90.) A study of eastern Caribbean faunas might provide information of value, since
Schmidt recorded both black and red sponges from St. Thomas. By contrast, the Mediterranean
and West African sponges are variously reported as green, orange, gray, brown
and black. A branching growth form has been recorded for Tedania from Europe but
has not been found in the West Indian sponges. Tedania ignis is said to irritate
severely the skin of many people, although it did not affect me. Such irritation has not,
to my knowledge, been associated with the Mediterranean sponge. Gemmules have been
reported only for the West Indian sponge (cf. Wilson 1894, de Laubenfels 1950a) and
may be a characteristic of T. ignis. The West Indian population, therefore, forms a
rather homogeneous group, which is very probably not conspecific with the Mediterranean
T. anhelans.
Specimens of Tedania from the Indo-Pacific also present a taxonomic problem. De
Laubenfels only doubtfully assigned Hawaiian and Central Pacific sponges to the West
Indian species. His Pacific specimens were always incrusting. He concluded that they
were at least a distinct subspecies. Australasian specimens of Tedania, recorded under
a number of species names, are described as orange or red in color. Their relationship
to the European and West Indian species remains to be clarified.
GENUS LISSODENDORYX Topsent
Lissodendoryx isodictyalis (Carter) Topsent
Halichondria. isodictyalis Carter, 1882, p. 285 [type: Puerto Cabello, Venezuela, and
Acapulco, Mexico; Brit. Mus. (Nat. Hist.) (?)]; idem, 1886, p. 52.
Myxilla isodictyalis, Dendy, 1896, p. 30; Row, 1911, p. 343.
Lissodendoryx isodictyalis, Topsent, 1897, p. 456; idem, 1925a, p. 701; idem, 1936, p. 18;
Burton, 1948, p. 755; de Laubenfels, 1936a, p. 93; idem, 1947, p. 35; idem, 1950a, p.
73; idem, 1956, p. 2, 3; Dickinson, 1945, p. 20; L£vi, 1952, p. 48; Hopkins, 1956, p. 24;
Hartman, 1958, p. 41; Wells et al., 1960, p. 212; Sara and Siribelli, 1960, p. 53; Little,
1963, p. 48.
Lissodendoryx isodictyalis paucispinosa Topsent, 1928, p. 240 (?).
[non] Lissodendoryx isodictyalis jacksoniana Burton, 1936b, p. 141.
Tedania leptoderma Topsent, 1889, p. 49 (fide Topsent, 1897.)
Lissodendoryx leptoderma, Topsent, 1894, p. 35.
Lissodendoryx similis Thiele, 1899, p. 18 (fide Topsent, 1925a); Burton and Rao, 1932,
p. 331 (fide Topsent, 1936.)