Vansoestia caribensis gen. nov., sp. nov.: first report of the family Ianthellidae (Verongida, Demospongiae) in the Caribbean.

A thin fiber-less sponge from Caribbean reefs (Bocas del Toro, Panama) with close genetic affinities (based on 18S and 28S nuclear ribosomal RNA gene sequences) to large fan-shaped fiber-bearing sponges (Ianthella and Anomoianthella) from the Indo-Pacific Ocean is here presented. We describe its overall external morphology, histological features, and ultrastructure. Its genetic distance from the only previously known fiber-less verongid genus, Hexadella, prompted the need to erect a new genus to classify this species. This novel species constitutes the first record for a member of the family Ianthellidae in the Caribbean. The characterization of the family Ianthellidae (sensu Cook and Bergquist, 2000) is here modified by: i) highlighting the cavernous nature of the choanosome, with many lacunae and channels reported for all genera included in the family; ii) extending the family distribution to the Caribbean; and iii) adding a fourth genus to the group of verongids with eurypylous chambers. The possession of a cellularized cortex (10-300 µm in thickness) is here proposed as a potential synapomorphic character of the Ianthella-Anomoianthella-Vansoestia clade. The main issues regarding the suprageneric classification of verongids are discussed.

Nearly complete 28S rRNA gene sequences confirm new hypotheses of sponge evolution.

The highly collaborative research sponsored by the NSF-funded Assembling the Porifera Tree of Life (PorToL) project is providing insights into some of the most difficult questions in metazoan systematics. Our understanding of phylogenetic relationships within the phylum Porifera has changed considerably with increased taxon sampling and data from additional molecular markers. PorToL researchers have falsified earlier phylogenetic hypotheses, discovered novel phylogenetic alliances, found phylogenetic homes for enigmatic taxa, and provided a more precise understanding of the evolution of skeletal features, secondary metabolites, body organization, and symbioses. Some of these exciting new discoveries are shared in the papers that form this issue of Integrative and Comparative Biology. Our analyses of over 300 nearly complete 28S ribosomal subunit gene sequences provide specific case studies that illustrate how our dataset confirms new hypotheses of sponge evolution. We recovered monophyletic clades for all 4 classes of sponges, as well as the 4 major clades of Demospongiae (Keratosa, Myxospongiae, Haploscleromorpha, and Heteroscleromorpha), but our phylogeny differs in several aspects from traditional classifications. In most major clades of sponges, families within orders appear to be paraphyletic. Although additional sampling of genes and taxa are needed to establish whether this pattern results from a lack of phylogenetic resolution or from a paraphyletic classification system, many of our results are congruent with those obtained from 18S ribosomal subunit gene sequences and complete mitochondrial genomes. These data provide further support for a revision of the traditional classification of sponges.

Phylogenetic novelties and geographic anomalies among tropical Verongida.

Exploring marine sponges from shallow tropical reefs of the Caribbean and western Central Pacific, as part of large biodiversity (Moorea Biocode Project) and evolutionary (Porifera Tree of Life) research projects, we encountered 13 skeleton-less specimens, initially divided in two morphological groups, which had patterns of coloration and oxidation typical of taxa of the order Verongida (Demospongiae). The first group of samples inhabited open and cryptic habitats of shallow (15-20 m) Caribbean reefs at Bocas del Toro Archipelago, Panama. The second group inhabited schiophilous (e.g., inner coral framework and crevices) habitats on shallow reefs (0.5-20 m deep) in Moorea Island, French Polynesia. We applied an integrative approach by combining analyses of external morphology, histological observations, 18S rDNA, and mtCOI to determine the identity and the relationships of these unknown taxa within the order Verongida. Molecular analyses revealed that none of the species studied belonged to Hexadella (Ianthellidae, Verongida), the only fibreless genus of the Order Verongida currently recognized. The species from the Caribbean locality of Bocas del Toro (Panama) belong to the family Ianthellidae and is closely related to the Pacific genera Ianthella and Anomoianthella, both with well-developed fiber reticulations. We suggest the erection of a new generic denomination to include this novel eurypylous, fibreless ianthellid. The species collected in Moorea were all diplodal verongid taxa, with high affinities to a clade containing Pseudoceratina, Verongula, and Aiolochroia, a Pacific and two Caribbean genera, respectively. These unknown species represented at least three different taxa distinguished by DNA sequence analysis and morphological characteristics. Two new genera and a new species of Pseudoceratina are here proposed to accommodate these novel biological discoveries. The evolutionary and ecological meaning of having or lacking a fiber skeleton within Verongida is challenged under the evidence of the existence of fibreless genera within various verongid clades. Furthermore, the discovery of a fibreless Peudoceratina suggests that the possession of a spongin-chitin fiber reticulation is an "ecological" plastic trait that might be lost under certain conditions, such us growing within another organism's skeletal framework. These results raise new questions about the ecological and evolutionary significance of the development of a fiber skeleton and of sponges' adaptability to various environmental conditions.