Abstract

The taxonomy and distribution of 11 species of calcareous sponges of the subclass Calcinea from the Norwegian coast are reviewed. The Norwegian Calcinea represents a mixture of southern boreal/boreal and boreoarctic species, and the calcinean sponge fauna of northern Norway has strong similarities to the Greenlandic and the White Sea/Barents Sea sponge faunas. Most Norwegian Calcinea have their main distribution between 20 and 100 m depth, although some species are found only in the shallow sublittoral or from sublittoral to abyssal depths. Six species were previously reported in the area: Clathrina coriacea (Montagu, 1818), Clathrina cribrata Rapp et al., 2001, Clathrina nanseni (Breitfuss, 1896), Clathrina septentrionalis Rapp et al., 2001, Guancha blanca Miklucho-Maclay, 1868 and Guancha lacunosa (Johnston, 1842). Five species are new to science: Clathrina corallicola, Clathrina jorunnae, Guancha arnesenae, Guancha camura, and Guancha pellucida spp. nov. A key to the known Norwegian Calcinea is provided. © 2006 The Linnean Society of London, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2006, 147, 331–365.

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