''Ectyonopsis'' is a genus of

demosponges Demosponges or common sponges are sponges of the class Demospongiae (from + ), the most diverse group in the phylum Porifera which include greater than 90% of all extant sponges with nearly 8,800 species worldwide (according to the World P ...

in the family Myxillidae. They are mostly known from the waters surrounding

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and from the

Southern Ocean The Southern Ocean, also known as the Antarctic Ocean, comprises the southernmost waters of the world ocean, generally taken to be south of 60th parallel south, 60° S latitude and encircling Antarctica. With a size of , it is the seco ...

Description

This species was originally created for ''Ectyonopsis ramosa'', an Australian species with acanthostyles (spiny styles (

spicules Spicules are any of various small needle-like anatomical structures occurring in organisms Spicule may also refer to: *Spicule (sponge), small skeletal elements of sea sponges *Spicule (nematode), reproductive structures found in male nematodes ( ...

with end pointed and the other rounded)) and acanthostrongyles (spiny strongyles (megascleres with both ends rounded)) that form a choanosomal isotropic structure. The genus ''Ectyonancora'', which contained two South African species with acanthostyles, acanthostrongyles, ectosomal tornotes (spicules with both ends sharply pointed), and isochelae spicules (spicules with both ends alike) with protruding processes, was later synonymised with this genus. All the species in this genus share several features. The tornotes are smooth with triangular/sharply pointed ends. Thick, heavily spined styles are isotopically reticulated and are covered by thick acanthostyles. The microscleres are robust isochelae with processes and broad rounded ends.

Species

The following species are recognised: * '' Ectyonopsis flabellata'' (Lévi, 1963) * '' Ectyonopsis hartmani'' (Bakus, 1966) * '' Ectyonopsis panis'' (Boury-Esnault & van Beveren, 1982) * '' Ectyonopsis pluridentata'' (Lévi, 1963) * '' Ectyonopsis ramosa'' Carter, 1883 * '' Ectyonopsis ruthae'' (Mothes & Lerner, 1995) * '' Ectyonopsis sigmata'' Aguilar-Camacho & Carballo, 2012

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5382276 Demospongiae Sponge genera