New species in the sponge genus Tsitsikamma (Poecilosclerida, Latrunculiidae) from South Africa

By

Parker-Nance, Shirley
Hilliar, Storm
Waterworth, Samantha
Walmsley, Tara
Dorrington, Rosemary

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2019

Original Publication

ZooKeys

Volume

874

Pages

101--126

Subjects

28S rRNA , Algoa Bay , marine sponge , Western Indian Ocean

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.874.32268

 

Abstract

The genus Tsitsikamma Samaai & Kelly, 2002 is to date exclusively reported from South Africa. Three species are known from the southern coast: Tsitsikamma favus Samaai & Kelly, 2002, from the Garden Route National Park Tsitsikamma Marine Protected Area (MPA) and Algoa Bay; T. pedunculata Samaai, Gibbons, Kelly and Davies-Coleman, 2003, collected from Cape Recife in St. Francis Bay, and T. scurra Samaai, Gibbons, Kelly and Davies-Coleman, 2003, collected from a wreck site in a small bay west of Hout Bay on the west coast of South Africa. Here two new species are described: Tsitsikamma michaeli Parker-Nance, sp. nov., a small green purse-like species, collected from Algoa Bay, and Tsitsikamma nguni Parker-Nance, sp. nov., from The Garden Route National Park, Tsitsikamma MPA. Additional morphological characteristics, spicule morphology, and distribution records are provided for T. favus and T. pedunculata from Algoa Bay. The phylogenetic relationship of these five Tsitsikamma species is investigated.