WoRMS taxon details

Asbestopluma (Asbestopluma) gracilior (Schmidt, 1870)

168198  (urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:168198)

accepted
Species
Cometella gracilior Schmidt, 1870 · unaccepted (genus transfer)
marine, brackish, fresh, terrestrial
recent only
(of Cometella gracilior Schmidt, 1870) Schmidt, O. (1870). Grundzüge einer Spongien-Fauna des atlantischen Gebietes. (Wilhelm Engelmann: Leipzig): iii-iv, 1-88, pls I-VI.
page(s): 49 [details]  OpenAccess publication 
Type locality contained in Floridian  
type locality contained in Floridian [from synonym] [view taxon] [details]
Note There is a problem with the original...  
Type material There is a problem with the original description and depiction of Schmidt’s (1870) Cometella gracilior: he pictures (pl. V fig. 9) a small sponge consisting of a long stalk and a small oval, seemingly smooth body (resembling Rhizaxinella clava Schmidt, 1870 or perhaps Stylocordyla sp.), and with it there is a drawing of a thick style with a peculiar cut-off end. His description (p. 49) is somewhat more elaborate, as he mentions papilla-like outgrowths of the body (not visible in the drawing). The description lacks the mention of microscleres. The slide of Schmidt in the Natural History Museum (London) labeled ‘Cometella gracilior n.g.n.sp.’ does not show a content conforming to Schmidt’s description and it is quite likely that the slide was not made from the specimen in Schmidt’s drawing (his pl. V fig. 9). As Hajdu & Vacelet (2002) (p. 637, at the bottom of the right hand column) stated, the contents of this slide are styles, subtylostrongyles, sigmancistras and anisochelae, as well as a few sections that make it clear that these conform closely to a Guyana specimen recently described by Van Soest (2017). In fact, the Guyana specimen resembles to a large extent the shape, structure and spiculation of the type of the genus Asbestopluma, A. (A.) pennatula (Schmidt, 1875). A major difference is the presence of two size categories of anisochelae in A. (A.) pennatula, but otherwise the two species are similar. Since Hajdu & Vacelet (2002) assigned the status of lectotype to BMNH slide 1870.5.3.97, it is clear that the Guyana specimen indeed belongs to A. (A.) gracilior, despite the discrepancy with Schmidt’s drawing, and to a lesser extent his unrecognizable description. However, there is an alleged type specimen in the BMNH collection, which was obtained in an exchange with the Museum of Comparative Zoology (cf. Desqueyroux-Faúndez & Stone 1992). This specimen has been recently found in the BMNH collection (Ms Emma Sherlock in litteris), labeled ‘Alligator Reef, BMNH 1939.2.10.45 (sp) MCZ Exchange (MCZ 8130)’. It has the shape of Schmidt’s pl. IV fig. 9, and in all probability is not an Asbestopluma, but possibly Rhizaxinella clava or Stylocordyla. Thus, it appears we have here a confusing case of either a mislabeled specimen or a mislabeled slide because the two do not match (the specimen likely to represent a Rhizaxinella or Stylocordyla, the slide an Asbestopluma). Since there is only a single specimen and a single slide, lectotype designation of BMNH 1870.5.3.97 might be contested. [details]
Type species This the type species of the unaccepted genus Cometella. [details]
de Voogd, N.J.; Alvarez, B.; Boury-Esnault, N.; Cárdenas, P.; Díaz, M.-C.; Dohrmann, M.; Downey, R.; Goodwin, C.; Hajdu, E.; Hooper, J.N.A.; Kelly, M.; Klautau, M.; Lim, S.C.; Manconi, R.; Morrow, C.; Pinheiro, U.; Pisera, A.B.; Ríos, P.; Rützler, K.; Schönberg, C.; Turner, T.; Vacelet, J.; van Soest, R.W.M.; Xavier, J. (2024). World Porifera Database. Asbestopluma (Asbestopluma) gracilior (Schmidt, 1870). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=168198 on 2024-03-28
Date
action
by
2005-07-10 18:05:41Z
created
db_admin
2006-01-03 22:15:11Z
changed
2007-06-05 11:45:41Z
changed
2012-08-03 13:29:49Z
changed

Creative Commons License The webpage text is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License


original description  (of Cometella gracilior Schmidt, 1870) Schmidt, O. (1870). Grundzüge einer Spongien-Fauna des atlantischen Gebietes. (Wilhelm Engelmann: Leipzig): iii-iv, 1-88, pls I-VI.
page(s): 49 [details]  OpenAccess publication 

context source (Deepsea) Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO. The Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS), available online at http://www.iobis.org/ [details]   

basis of record Hajdu, E.; Vacelet, J. (2002). Family Cladorhizidae Dendy, 1922. pp. 636-641. <i>In:</i> Hooper, J.N.A. & Van Soest, R.W.M. (eds) (2002). <em>Systema Porifera. A guide to the classification of sponges (2 volumes).</em> Kluwer Academic/Plenum, NY, 1708 + xvliii. ISBN 0-306-47260-0 (printed version). [details]  Available for editors  PDF available [request] 

basis of record Van Soest, R.W.M. (2017). Sponges of the Guyana Shelf. <em>Zootaxa.</em> 4217: 1-225., available online at https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4217.1.1
page(s): 131 [details]  Available for editors  PDF available [request] 

basis of record Hajdu, E.; Vacelet, J. (2002 [2004]). Family Cladorhizidae Dendy, 1922. pp. 636-641. <i>In:</i> Hooper, J.N.A. & Van Soest, R.W.M. (eds) (2002 [2004]). <em>Systema Porifera. A guide to the classification of sponges (2 volumes).</em> Kluwer Academic/Plenum, NY, 1708 + xvliii. ISBN 978-1-4615-0747-5 (eBook electronic version). [details]  Available for editors  PDF available [request] 

additional source Rützler, K.; van Soest, R.W.M.; Piantoni, C. (2009). Sponges (Porifera) of the Gulf of Mexico. <i>in</i>: Felder, D.L. and D.K. Camp (eds.), Gulf of Mexico–Origins, Waters, and Biota. Biodiversity. Texas A & M Press, College Station, Texas. 285–313. [details]  Available for editors  PDF available [request] 
 
 Present  Present in aphia/obis/gbif/idigbio   Inaccurate  Introduced: alien  Containing type locality 
   

From editor or global species database
Type material There is a problem with the original description and depiction of Schmidt’s (1870) Cometella gracilior: he pictures (pl. V fig. 9) a small sponge consisting of a long stalk and a small oval, seemingly smooth body (resembling Rhizaxinella clava Schmidt, 1870 or perhaps Stylocordyla sp.), and with it there is a drawing of a thick style with a peculiar cut-off end. His description (p. 49) is somewhat more elaborate, as he mentions papilla-like outgrowths of the body (not visible in the drawing). The description lacks the mention of microscleres. The slide of Schmidt in the Natural History Museum (London) labeled ‘Cometella gracilior n.g.n.sp.’ does not show a content conforming to Schmidt’s description and it is quite likely that the slide was not made from the specimen in Schmidt’s drawing (his pl. V fig. 9). As Hajdu & Vacelet (2002) (p. 637, at the bottom of the right hand column) stated, the contents of this slide are styles, subtylostrongyles, sigmancistras and anisochelae, as well as a few sections that make it clear that these conform closely to a Guyana specimen recently described by Van Soest (2017). In fact, the Guyana specimen resembles to a large extent the shape, structure and spiculation of the type of the genus Asbestopluma, A. (A.) pennatula (Schmidt, 1875). A major difference is the presence of two size categories of anisochelae in A. (A.) pennatula, but otherwise the two species are similar. Since Hajdu & Vacelet (2002) assigned the status of lectotype to BMNH slide 1870.5.3.97, it is clear that the Guyana specimen indeed belongs to A. (A.) gracilior, despite the discrepancy with Schmidt’s drawing, and to a lesser extent his unrecognizable description. However, there is an alleged type specimen in the BMNH collection, which was obtained in an exchange with the Museum of Comparative Zoology (cf. Desqueyroux-Faúndez & Stone 1992). This specimen has been recently found in the BMNH collection (Ms Emma Sherlock in litteris), labeled ‘Alligator Reef, BMNH 1939.2.10.45 (sp) MCZ Exchange (MCZ 8130)’. It has the shape of Schmidt’s pl. IV fig. 9, and in all probability is not an Asbestopluma, but possibly Rhizaxinella clava or Stylocordyla. Thus, it appears we have here a confusing case of either a mislabeled specimen or a mislabeled slide because the two do not match (the specimen likely to represent a Rhizaxinella or Stylocordyla, the slide an Asbestopluma). Since there is only a single specimen and a single slide, lectotype designation of BMNH 1870.5.3.97 might be contested. [details]

Type species This the type species of the unaccepted genus Cometella. [details]