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Parra-Velandia, F.J.; Zea, S.; Van Soest, R.W.M. (2014). Reef sponges of the genus Agelas (Porifera: Demospongiae) from the Greater Caribbean. Zootaxa. 3794(3): 301-344.
176869
10.11646/zootaxa.3794.3.1 [view]
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:51852298-F299-4392-9C89-A6FD14D3E1D0 [view]
Parra-Velandia, F.J.; Zea, S.; Van Soest, R.W.M.
2014
Reef sponges of the genus <em>Agelas</em> (Porifera: Demospongiae) from the Greater Caribbean
Zootaxa
3794(3): 301-344
Publication
Available for editors  PDF available [request]
The genus Agelas comprises a group of tropical and subtropical reef sponges that contains large, long-lived, often brightly colored and conspicuous species, distributed throughout the tropical western Atlantic, temperate northern Atlantic (Mediterranean Sea), and western and central Indo-Pacific Realms. Among tropical sponge genera, Agelas is one with similar species richness in the Greater Caribbean in comparison to the Indo Pacific. The presence of verticillated acanthostyle spicules and a fibroreticulate skeleton of spongin fibres cored and/or echinated by spicules characterize this group. Taxonomic identification relies on a combination of characters, where external morphology and color play a key role, owing to the paucity of microscopical characters. Thus, there is still a great deal of taxonomic confusion, even for the more common species. We carried out a detailed revision of Agelas species throughout the Greater Caribbean area using classic taxonomic tools. Samples and observations covered Colombia, Belize, Jamaica, the Bahamas, Barbados, Curaçao and Venezuela, and included type material from major museum collections. According to our results, the genus Agelas in the Caribbean has at least thirteen valid species, viz. Agelas sceptrum (Lamarck, 1815); A. dispar Duchassaing & Michelotti, 1864; A. dilatata Duchassaing & Michelotti, 1864; A. clathrodes (Schmidt, 1870); A. cervicornis (Schmidt, 1870); A. conifera (Schmidt, 1870); A. schmidti Wilson, 1902; A. tubulata Lehnert & van Soest, 1996; A. wiedenmayeri Alcolado, 1984; A. citrina Gotera & Alcolado, 1987; A. sventres Lehnert & van Soest, 1996; A. repens Lehnert & van Soest, 1998; and A. cerebrum Assmann et al., 2001. We found that variation of microscopic characteristics like skeleton arrangement, number of verticills and their spines, and spicule length and width, can be used as taxonomic tools, but only in a thorough comparison with other species in the same sub-regional context. Thus, a certain degree of familiarity with the genus’ regional variation is often required. The richness and distribution of these species in the Caribbean area show north/south differences and other ecological patterns are evident.
Caribbean region
Systematics, Taxonomy
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BibTex (BibDesk, LaTeX)
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2014-05-07 08:48:21Z
created
2018-06-25 07:02:08Z
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2022-02-23 15:53:50Z
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Bahamas Exclusive Economic Zone for Agelas conifera (Schmidt, 1870) 
Bahamas Exclusive Economic Zone for Agelas dilatata Duchassaing & Michelotti, 1864 
Bahamas Exclusive Economic Zone for Agelas sceptrum (Lamarck, 1815) 
Bahamas Exclusive Economic Zone for Agelas schmidtii Wilson, 1902 
Bahamas Exclusive Economic Zone for Agelas sventres Lehnert & van Soest, 1996 
Bahamian for Agelas cervicornis (Schmidt, 1870) 
Bahamian for Agelas cervicornis (Schmidt, 1870) 
Bahamian for Agelas citrina Gotera & Alcolado, 1987 
Bahamian for Agelas conifera (Schmidt, 1870) 
Bahamian for Agelas conifera (Schmidt, 1870) 
Bahamian for Agelas conifera (Schmidt, 1870) 
Bahamian for Agelas sceptrum (Lamarck, 1815) 
Bahamian for Agelas schmidtii Wilson, 1902 
Bahamian for Agelas sventres Lehnert & van Soest, 1996 
Bahamian for Agelas wiedenmayeri Alcolado, 1984 
Barbados Exclusive Economic Zone for Agelas citrina Gotera & Alcolado, 1987 
Barbados Exclusive Economic Zone for Agelas conifera (Schmidt, 1870) 
Barbados Exclusive Economic Zone for Agelas sventres Lehnert & van Soest, 1996 
Belizean Exclusive Economic Zone for Agelas citrina Gotera & Alcolado, 1987 
Belizean Exclusive Economic Zone for Agelas conifera (Schmidt, 1870) 
Belizean Exclusive Economic Zone for Agelas sceptrum (Lamarck, 1815) 
Colombian Exclusive Economic Zone for Agelas citrina Gotera & Alcolado, 1987 
Colombian Exclusive Economic Zone for Agelas conifera (Schmidt, 1870) 
Colombian Exclusive Economic Zone for Agelas sceptrum (Lamarck, 1815) 
Colombian Exclusive Economic Zone for Agelas schmidtii Wilson, 1902 
Colombian Exclusive Economic Zone for Agelas sventres Lehnert & van Soest, 1996 
Colombian Exclusive Economic Zone for Agelas wiedenmayeri Alcolado, 1984 
Colombian part of the Caribbean Sea for Agelas sceptrum (Lamarck, 1815) 
Colombian part of the Caribbean Sea for Agelas sventres Lehnert & van Soest, 1996 
Colombian part of the Caribbean Sea for Agelas tubulata Lehnert & van Soest, 1996 
Curaçaoan Exclusive Economic Zone for Agelas citrina Gotera & Alcolado, 1987 
Curaçaoan Exclusive Economic Zone for Agelas sceptrum (Lamarck, 1815) 
Curaçaoan Exclusive Economic Zone for Agelas sventres Lehnert & van Soest, 1996 
Curaçaoan part of the Caribbean Sea for Agelas sceptrum (Lamarck, 1815) 
Dominican Republic Exclusive Economic Zone for Agelas conifera (Schmidt, 1870) 
Eastern Caribbean for Agelas citrina Gotera & Alcolado, 1987 
Eastern Caribbean for Agelas conifera (Schmidt, 1870) 
Eastern Caribbean for Agelas dispar Duchassaing & Michelotti, 1864 
Eastern Caribbean for Agelas dispar Duchassaing & Michelotti, 1864 
Eastern Caribbean for Agelas dispar Duchassaing & Michelotti, 1864 
Floridian for Agelas schmidtii Wilson, 1902 
Floridian for Agelas wiedenmayeri Alcolado, 1984 
Greater Antilles for Agelas cervicornis (Schmidt, 1870) 
Greater Antilles for Agelas cervicornis (Schmidt, 1870) 
Greater Antilles for Agelas cervicornis (Schmidt, 1870) 
Greater Antilles for Agelas citrina Gotera & Alcolado, 1987 
Greater Antilles for Agelas conifera (Schmidt, 1870) 
Greater Antilles for Agelas dispar Duchassaing & Michelotti, 1864 
Greater Antilles for Agelas dispar Duchassaing & Michelotti, 1864 
Greater Antilles for Agelas sceptrum (Lamarck, 1815) 
Jamaican Exclusive Economic Zone for Agelas citrina Gotera & Alcolado, 1987 
Jamaican Exclusive Economic Zone for Agelas conifera (Schmidt, 1870) 
Jamaican Exclusive Economic Zone for Agelas sceptrum (Lamarck, 1815) 
Jamaican Exclusive Economic Zone for Agelas sventres Lehnert & van Soest, 1996 
Puerto Rican Exclusive Economic Zone for Agelas conifera (Schmidt, 1870) 
Southern Caribbean for Agelas citrina Gotera & Alcolado, 1987 
Southern Caribbean for Agelas citrina Gotera & Alcolado, 1987 
Southern Caribbean for Agelas conifera (Schmidt, 1870) 
Southern Caribbean for Agelas sceptrum (Lamarck, 1815) 
Southern Caribbean for Agelas schmidtii Wilson, 1902 
Southern Caribbean for Agelas sventres Lehnert & van Soest, 1996 
Southern Gulf of Mexico for Agelas sventres Lehnert & van Soest, 1996 
Southwestern Caribbean for Agelas citrina Gotera & Alcolado, 1987 
Southwestern Caribbean for Agelas conifera (Schmidt, 1870) 
Southwestern Caribbean for Agelas conifera (Schmidt, 1870) 
Southwestern Caribbean for Agelas dispar Duchassaing & Michelotti, 1864 
Southwestern Caribbean for Agelas dispar Duchassaing & Michelotti, 1864 
Southwestern Caribbean for Agelas sceptrum (Lamarck, 1815) 
Southwestern Caribbean for Agelas sceptrum (Lamarck, 1815) 
Southwestern Caribbean for Agelas schmidtii Wilson, 1902 
Southwestern Caribbean for Agelas schmidtii Wilson, 1902 
Southwestern Caribbean for Agelas sventres Lehnert & van Soest, 1996 
Southwestern Caribbean for Agelas tubulata Lehnert & van Soest, 1996 
Southwestern Caribbean for Agelas wiedenmayeri Alcolado, 1984 
Southwestern Caribbean for Agelas wiedenmayeri Alcolado, 1984 
Venezuelan Exclusive Economic Zone for Agelas citrina Gotera & Alcolado, 1987 
Western Caribbean for Agelas citrina Gotera & Alcolado, 1987 
Western Caribbean for Agelas conifera (Schmidt, 1870) 
Western Caribbean for Agelas dispar Duchassaing & Michelotti, 1864 
Western Caribbean for Agelas sceptrum (Lamarck, 1815) 
Western Caribbean for Agelas tubulata Lehnert & van Soest, 1996 
Holotype IOACC IdO-409, geounit Greater Antilles, identified as Agelas wiedenmayeri Alcolado, 1984








 Synonymy

Parra et al. (2014) suggest that this species could be a junior synonym of Agelas dilatata. For the time being we ... [details]