A century later: discovery of a second Podospongia species offshore from the Table Mountain National Park MPA, South Africa
Samaai, T. (2026). A century later: discovery of a second Podospongia species offshore from the Table Mountain National Park MPA, South Africa. J. Mar. Biol. Ass. U.K. 106: e17. https://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0025315426101118
In: Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. Cambridge University Press/Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom: Cambridge. ISSN 0025-3154; e-ISSN 1469-7769, meer
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Taxa > Species > New taxa > New species
Demospongiae [WoRMS]; Podospongia capensis Samaai, 2026 [WoRMS]; Podospongiidae Laubenfels, 1936 [WoRMS]; Porifera [WoRMS]
Cape Peninsula [Marine Regions]
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| Author keywords |
Southern Benguela; Sponge |
| Abstract |
A new sponge species (Demospongiae: Poecilosclerida: Podospongiidae) is described offshore from the Cape of Good Hope, on the southern edge of the Table Mountain National Park marine protected area. Podospongia capensis sp. nov. is compared to Podospongia natalensis, described by Kirkpatrick (1903) from the east coast of South Africa, as well as to all other Podospongia species described to date. The new species differs from P. natalensis in having a shorter, thicker stalk, lacking anisostrongyles as megascleres, and possessing a second category of large symmetrical aciculospinorhabds microcleres that are present in P. natalensis. Additionally, P. natalensis has larger oxeas and styles than those found in P. capensis sp. nov. Furthermore, the two species are geographically separated, with P. natalensis described from the Natal ecoregion, while P. capensis sp. nov. is described from the Southern Benguela ecoregion. The new species primarily differs from other congeners in external morphology and size of the oxeas and styles. |
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