Filling gaps in the Webbnesia marine diversity: the madeiran sponge fauna

Santín, A.; Wirtz, Peter; Neves, Pedro António Nobre Soares Pinto das; Ribeiro, Cláudia

http://hdl.handle.net/10400.1/25822

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Authors

Santín, A.

Wirtz, Peter

Neves, Pedro António Nobre Soares Pinto das

Ribeiro, Cláudia

Abstract(s)

Despite few pioneering works in the late XIX and early XX century, the poriferan fauna of Madeira has remained mostly unexplored until today, Madeira being one of the least studied eastern Atlantic archipelagos in terms of its sponge diversity. After a thorough analysis of both new material collected by SCUBA diving as well as a literature research, 140 sponge species are known to occur in the Madeira archipelago. From the 56 species identified by both collected material and pictures, approximately 60% (34 species) are new records for the Archipelago. These 34 new records were found associated with littoral rocky substrates and, to a lesser extent, caves, rhodolith beds and wrecks, within a depth range of 10-35 m depth. Our records also contain several Mediterranean species that have not been previously recorded in the North Atlantic, several North-east Atlantic species whose presence in Madeira marks their southernmost limit of occurrence, as well as elements from the subtropical West African fauna. Amongst the new additions to its sponge fauna there are the first records of Homomscleromorpha, with at least three Oscarella species noted, as well as a new species of Hemimycale (Demospongiae, Poecilosclerida). Yet, this is still an underestimation of Madeira's real sponge diversity.