New sponge species from Seno Magdalena, Puyuhuapi Fjord and Jacaf Canal (Chile)

Marco Bertolino,Maurizio Pansini,Giovanni Daneri,Giorgio Bavestrello,Gabriele Costa

doi:10.5852/ejt.2020.715

Abstract

Until now, only 177 species of sponges (Porifera) have been reported for Chilean coastal waters. Here we describe recent scuba diving surveys undertaken to improve our knowledge of the diversity of the sponge fauna of the Seno Magdalena, Puyuhuapi Fjord and Jacaf Canal in Chilean Patagonia. Despite these relatively harsh environments, our study yielded 23 species of Demospongiae, nine of which are new to science and described here: Hymerabdia imperfecta Bertolino, Costa & Pansini sp. nov., Axinella cylindrica Bertolino, Costa & Pansini sp. nov., Axinella coronata Bertolino, Costa & Pansini sp. nov., Biemna aurantiaca Bertolino, Costa & Pansini sp. nov., Biemna erecta Bertolino, Costa & Pansini sp. nov., Biemna typica Bertolino, Costa & Pansini sp. nov., Scopalina cribrosa Bertolino, Costa & Pansini sp. nov., Rhizaxinella strongylata Bertolino, Costa & Pansini sp. nov. and Darwinella pronzatoi Bertolino, Costa & Pansini sp. nov. One species, Hymedesmia (Stylopus) lissostyla (Bergquist & Fromont, 1988), is reported for the first time for Chile.

Highlights

The southern tip of South America is of particular interest for ecological and biogeographic studies of marine organisms
Taxonomic decisions were made according to the revision of Demospongiae of Morrow & Cárdenas (2015) and the classification present in the World Porifera Database (WPD)
The survey collected 44 specimens of demosponges belonging to 23 species (Table 2), with nine species that are new to science: Hymerhabdia imperfecta Bertolino, Costa & Pansini sp. nov., Axinella cylindrica Bertolino, Costa & Pansini sp. nov., A. coronata Bertolino, Costa & Pansini sp. nov., Biemna aurantiaca Bertolino, Costa & Pansini sp. nov., B. erecta Bertolino, Costa & Pansini sp. nov., B. typica Bertolino, Costa & Pansini sp. nov., Scopalina cribrosa Bertolino, Costa & Pansini sp. nov., Rhizaxinella strongylata Bertolino, Costa & Pansini sp. nov., Darwinella pronzatoi Bertolino, Costa & Pansini sp. nov

Summary

Introduction

The southern tip of South America is of particular interest for ecological and biogeographic studies of marine organisms. Patagonian fjords are influenced by saline subantarctic surface waters and freshwater input from the continent; these waters interact to form modified subantarctic waters characterized by sharp vertical and horizontal salinity gradients (Iriarte et al 2014 and references therein). These fjords can, be considered transitional marine systems where marked contrasts in marine biodiversity and distribution can be observed (Escribano et al 2003). Exploitation of the natural resources of the region (fisheries, tourism) and the expansion of commercial salmon and mussel farming (Pantoja et al 2011) are increasing the pressure on these fragile fjord ecosystems, and they require enhanced scientific surveillance and protection

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