''Leucosolenia'' is a genus of
calcareous sponge
The calcareous sponges or calcereans are sponges that make up the class Calcarea, characterized by spicules made of calcium carbonate in the form of high-magnesium calcite or aragonite. While the spicules in most species are triradiate (with three ...
s belonging to the family
Leucosoleniidae
Leucosoleniidae is a family of calcareous sponges in the order Leucosolenida
Leucosolenida is an order of sponges in the class Calcarea and the subclass Calcaronea. Species in Leucosolenida are calcareous, with a skeleton composed exclusive ...
. Species of this genus usually appear as groups of curved vases, up to 2 cm long, each ending in an
osculum
The osculum (: oscula) is an excretory structure in the living sponge, a large opening to the outside through which the current of water exits after passing through the spongocoel. Wastes diffuse into the water and the water is pumped through ...
. The overall shape is sometimes likened to a tiny bunch of
banana
A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large treelike herbaceous flowering plants in the genus '' Musa''. In some countries, cooking bananas are called plantains, distinguishing the ...
s. They are most often observed in
tide pool
A tide pool or rock pool is a shallow pool of seawater that forms on the rocky intertidal shore. These pools typically range from a few inches to a few feet deep and a few feet across. Many of these pools exist as separate bodies of water only ...
s, clustered around the base of
seaweed
Seaweed, or macroalgae, refers to thousands of species of macroscopic, multicellular, marine algae. The term includes some types of ''Rhodophyta'' (red), '' Phaeophyta'' (brown) and ''Chlorophyta'' (green) macroalgae. Seaweed species such as ...
s or on rocks, and occur in a variety of colours, usually rather pale. Its canal system is of asconoid type. The colony consists of few simple vase-like, cylindrical individuals each terminating in an osculum and united at their bases by irregular horizontal tubes. Leucosolenia reproduces both asexually and sexually. asexual reproduction by budding and sexual reproduction takes place by formation of gametes, i.e., ova and sperms. Lecosolenia is hermaphrodite, because both the gametes are formed in the body of same individual. Sponges are mostly asymmetrical, but Leucosolenia is
symmetrical
Symmetry () in everyday life refers to a sense of harmonious and beautiful proportion and balance. In mathematics, the term has a more precise definition and is usually used to refer to an object that is invariant under some transformations ...
.
Species
The following species are recognised in the genus ''Leucosolenia'':
* ''
Leucosolenia aboralis''
Brøndsted, 1931
* ''
Leucosolenia albatrossi''
Hôzawa, 1918
* ''
Leucosolenia arachnoides''
(Haeckel, 1872)
* ''
Leucosolenia australis''
Brøndsted, 1931
* ''
Leucosolenia botryoides''
(Ellis & Solander, 1786)
* ''
Leucosolenia brondstedi''
Van Soest & Hooper, 2020
* ''
Leucosolenia cervicornis''
(Haeckel, 1872)
* ''
Leucosolenia clarkii''
(Verrill, 1873)
* ''
Leucosolenia complicata''
(Montagu, 1814)
* ''
Leucosolenia corallorrhiza''
(Haeckel, 1872)
* ''
Leucosolenia cyathus''
(Haeckel, 1870)
* ''
Leucosolenia discoveryi''
Jenkin, 1908
* ''
Leucosolenia echinata''
Kirk, 1893
* ''
Leucosolenia eleanor''
Urban, 1906
* ''
Leucosolenia eustephana''
Haeckel, 1872
* ''
Leucosolenia falklandica''
Breitfuss, 1898
* ''
Leucosolenia feuerlandica''
Tanita, 1942
* ''
Leucosolenia fragilis''
(Haeckel, 1870)
* ''
Leucosolenia gegenbauri''
(Haeckel, 1870)
* ''
Leucosolenia goethei''
(Haeckel, 1870)
* ''
Leucosolenia hispidissima''
(Haeckel, 1872)
* ''
Leucosolenia horrida''
(Schmidt in Haeckel, 1872)
* ''
Leucosolenia incerta''
Urban, 1908
* ''
Leucosolenia kagoshimensis''
(Hozawa, 1929)
* ''
Leucosolenia lucasi''
Dendy, 1891
* ''
Leucosolenia macquariensis''
Dendy, 1918
* ''
Leucosolenia microspinata''
Longo, 2009
* ''
Leucosolenia minchini''
Jenkin, 1908
* ''
Leucosolenia minuta''
Tanita, 1943
* ''
Leucosolenia mollis''
Tanita, 1941
* ''
Leucosolenia nautilia''
de Laubenfels, 1930
* ''
Leucosolenia parthenopea''
Sarà, 1953
* ''
Leucosolenia pilosella''
Brøndsted, 1931
* ''
Leucosolenia pyriformis''
Tanita, 1943
* ''
Leucosolenia rosea''
Kirk, 1896
* ''
Leucosolenia salpinx''
Van Soest, 2017
* ''
Leucosolenia serica''
Tanita, 1942
* ''
Leucosolenia somesii''
(Bowerbank, 1874)
* ''
Leucosolenia tenera''
Tanita, 1940
* ''
Leucosolenia variabilis''
Haeckel, 1870
* ''
Leucosolenia ventosa''
Hôzawa, 1940
* ''
Leucosolenia vesicula''
(Haeckel, 1870)
References
TaxonomiconNorth East Atlantic Taxa
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3516934
Leucosolenida
Taxa named by James Scott Bowerbank
Sponge genera
Taxa described in 1861