Placospongia santodomingoae Becking 2013

Holotype and paratypes are branching and encrusting, size 8cm in length. Total size of specimens in situ is hard to establish as parts of the body may be encrusting within cracks. Alcohol preserved and live specimens are hard but slightly compressible. The surface is made up with typical Placospongia cortical plates separated by contractible grooves which form a network on the surface. Oscules are present in the grooves. Live color of holotype was dark brown, the paratypes were orange, and these colors were mostly retained after alcohol preservation (Fig. 8A). Spicules. Holotype (Fig. 8) megascleres large straight tylostyles with blunt point 430-605.5-660 × 13-15.5-20 × 13-18.1-23 μm, small straight tylostyles with sharp point 240-261.3-290 × 5-7.2-8 × 5-8.8-10 μm; microscleres selenasters 80-84.8-90 × 60-67.3-75 μm, acanthose microrhabds 8-12.3-18 × 2.5-2.7-3.5 μm. Range of the paratypes (Table 1) large straight tylostyles with blunt point 430-760 × 13-20 × 15-23 μm, small straight tylostyles with sharp point 190-380 × 5-13 × 8-15 μm, microscleres selenasters 63-93 × 58-75 μ m, acanthose microrhabds 5-20 × 2.5-3.5 μ m. Skeleton. The cortical plates consist of densely packed selenasters, microrhabds form a layer over and amidst this selenaster cortex and are also prevalent in choanosomal tissue. Developmental stages of selenasters occur throughout the choanosome. Tylostyle tracts support the margins of the cortical plates in radial tracts from the centre core (consisting of densely packed selenaster) to the cortical plates. The sharp ends of the smaller tylostyles can be projected beyond the cortex surface.

Presently only recorded from Buli Halo anchialine pool on Maratua island, Berau, East Kalimantan, Indonesia (Fig. 9). For a full description of the pool, see Becking et al. (2011)