Klautau, Michelle, Lopes, Matheus Vieira, Tavares, Gabriela, Rizzieri, Raisa, Sorokin, Shirley, Fromont, Jane, Goudie, Lisa, Crowther, Andrea, McCormack, Samuel, George, Anita Mary, and Abdul Wahab, Muhammad Azmi (2025) Calcinean sponges (Porifera: Calcarea) from the shelf edge of the Great Australian Bight. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 203 (3). zlae041.

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Abstract

The deep-water regions of eastern and central Great Australian Bight (GAB) are subject to hydrocarbon exploration; consequently, there are efforts to study their biodiversity. Australia has ~200 species of Calcarea, but none has been described taxonomically from the GAB, and most are known down to only 200 m depth. A characterization of deep benthic communities was performed in the GAB at depths ranging from 200 to 3000 m. Of sponge species collected, 16% were members of Calcarea, and 11 were members of subclass Calcinea, which is the focus group of this work. Morphological and molecular tools were used for identification. Calcinean sponges were not found deeper than 400 m. The most diverse genus was Ascoleucetta, which had four species. Nine species and two genera are new to science: Clathrina williamsi sp. nov., Leucascus boomerang sp. nov., Ascoleucetta gabensis sp. nov., Ascoleucetta globularis sp. nov., Ascoleucetta parallela sp. nov., Ascoleucetta plana sp. nov., Leucetta conspicua sp. nov., Robspongia vociva gen. nov., sp. nov., and Rappya australiensis gen. nov., sp. nov. Calcareous sponges represented 1.8% of overall sponge biomass, and site 181 had the highest species richness. Our results reveal a unique community of calcareous sponges hidden within the GAB, suggesting high endemism.

Item ID:	83304
Item Type:	Article (Research - C1)
ISSN:	1096-3642
Copyright Information:	© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Linnean Society of London. All rights reserved. For commercial re-use, please contact reprints@oup.
Date Deposited:	15 Apr 2025 03:59
FoR Codes:	31 BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES > 3109 Zoology > 310913 Invertebrate biology @ 100%
SEO Codes:	18 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT > 1805 Marine systems and management > 180501 Assessment and management of benthic marine ecosystems @ 100%
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