''Iophon'' is a genus of
sponge
Sponges, the members of the phylum Porifera (; meaning 'pore bearer'), are a basal animal clade as a sister of the diploblasts. They are multicellular organisms that have bodies full of pores and channels allowing water to circulate through t ...
s belonging to the family
Acarnidae
Acarnidae is a family of sponges belonging to the order Poecilosclerida. It has a global distribution, although several genera occur primarily in colder temperate waters, and several have very restricted ranges. It is estimated that there are seve ...
.
The genus has a
cosmopolitan distribution
In biogeography, cosmopolitan distribution is the term for the range of a taxon that extends across all or most of the world in appropriate habitats. Such a taxon, usually a species, is said to exhibit cosmopolitanism or cosmopolitism. The ext ...
.
Description
This geus contains species with non-fistulose, massive, branching or encrusting growth forms. The ectosomal (outer) skeleton is made of tylotes (long, slender
megascleres with knobs at both ends) with microspined bases.
The choanosomal (inner) skeleton is a rounded, triangular or square-meshed network of smooth or spined choanosomal styles, arranged singly or with 2-3 per row.
The microscleres include bipocilla and palmate anisochelae with spurs. Bipocilla are unique to this genus. They are modified anisochela in which the wing-like alae are joined together by a short curved shaft. Toxas are absent.
Species
The following species are recognised:
*''
Iophon abnormalis''
(Ridley & Dendy, 1886)
*''
Iophon aceratum''
(Hentschel, 1914)
*''
Iophon bipocillum''
(Aguilar-Camacho, Carballo & Cruz-Barraza, 2013)
*''
Iophon cheliferum
''Iophon cheliferum'', also known as the white reticulated sponge, is a species of sea sponge which lives on the bottom of the ocean. It is a deep water species found in the south eastern Pacific Ocean and South Africa.
Distribution
''Iophon che ...
''
(Ridley & Dendy, 1886)
*''
Iophon chilense''
(Desqueyroux-Faúndez & van Soest, 1996)
*''
Iophon cylindricum''
(Ridley & Dendy, 1886)
*''
Iophon dogieli''
(Koltun, 1955)
*''
Iophon dubium''
(Hansen, 1885)
*''
Iophon flabellodigitatum''
(Kirkpatrick, 1907)
*''
Iophon frigidum'' Lundbeck, 1905
*''
Iophon funis''
(Topsent, 1892)
*''
Iophon gaussi''
(Hentschel, 1914)
*''
Iophon hesperidesi''
(Rios, Cristobo & Urgorri, 2004)
*''
Iophon husvikense''
(Goodwin, Brewin & Brickle, 2012)
*''
Iophon hyndmani''
(Bowerbank, 1858)
*''
Iophon indentatus''
(Wilson, 1904)
*''
Iophon koltuni'' Morozov, Sabirov & Zimina, 2019
*''
Iophon laevistylus'' Dendy, 1924
*''
Iophon lamella''
(Wilson, 1904)
*''
Iophon laminale''
(Ridley & Dendy, 1886)
*''
Iophon methanophila''
(Cárdenas, 2019)
*''
Iophon minor''
(Brøndsted, 1924)
*''
Iophon nigricans''
(Bowerbank, 1858)
*''
Iophon omnivorus''
(Ridley & Dendy, 1887)
*''
Iophon ostiamagna''
(Wilson, 1904)
*''
Iophon parvachela''
(Esteves, de Paula, Lerner, Lôbo-Hajdu & Hajdu, 2018)
*''
Iophon piceum''
(Vosmaer, 1882)
*''
Iophon pictoni''
(Goodwin, Brewin & Brickle, 2011)
*''
Iophon pluricorne''
(Topsent, 1907)
*''
Iophon pommeraniae''
(Thiele, 1903)
*''
Iophon proximum''
(Ridley,1881)
*''
Iophon radiatum''
(Topsent, 1901)
*''
Iophon rayae''
(Bakus, 1966)
*''
Iophon roseum''
(Goodwin, Brewin & Brickle, 2016)
*''
Iophon semispinosum'' (Bergquist, 1961)
*''
Iophon spinulentum''
(Bowerbank, 1866)
*''
Iophon terranovae''
(Calcinai & Pansini, 2000)
*''
Iophon timidum''
(Desqueyroux-Faúndez & van Soest, 1996)
*''
Iophon tubiforme''
(Desqueyroux-Faúndez & van Soest, 1996)
*''
Iophon unicorne''
(Topsent, 1907)
*''
Iophon variopocillatum''
(Alander, 1942)
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q4115641
Poecilosclerida
Sponge genera