Raspailiidae

Triketrion flabelliforme, overgrown by zoanthid Palythoa, from the Queensland Museum.

Belongs within: Poecilosclerida.

The Raspailiidae are a group of often branching sponges, with a distinct outer skeleton composed of spicule brushes grouped around extra-axial spicules.

Characters (from Hooper 1991): Typically branching, less often massive, flabelliform or encrusting. Surface typically hispid, even, but forms with microconules or entirely smooth surfaces also known. Ectosomal skeleton with ectosomal spicule brushes (fine styles, oxeas or anisoxeas) grouped around one or more long, central, extra-axial spicules (styles, oxeas or anisoxeas). Skeletal construction usually well developed, consisting of at least two differentiated structures: axially or basally condensed choanosomal skeleton, and extra-axial subectosomal skeleton, which may be radial, plumose or plumo-reticulate. Taxa with predominantly reticulate skeletal choanosomal architecture preserve at least some rudiments of extra-axial skeleton, in form of single (or groups of) subectosomal spicules. Spongin fibres usually echinated by acanthostyles which may be secondarily lost. Acanthostyle geometry extremely diverse. Structural megascleres varying from true styles to true oxeas, with intermediate forms. Microscleres occurring rarely, when present consisting of raphides (or microxeas).

<==Raspailiidae
    |--Cyamon aruense Hentschel 1912 BJ06
    |--*Axechina raspailiodes Hentschel 1912 BJ06
    |--Aulospongus MG-H11
    |--Ceratopsion dichotoma (Whitelegge 1907) MG-H11
    |--Echinodictyum cancellatum (Lamarck 1814) MG-H11
    |--Lithoplocamia MG-H11
    |--Thrinacophora cervicornis Ridley & Dendy 1886 MG-H11
    |--Trikentrion flabelliforme Carter 1882 MG-H11
    |--Raspailia MG-H11
    |    |  i. s.: R. fruticosa BJ06
    |    |           |--R. f. fruticosa BJ06
    |    |           `--R. f. aruensis Hentschel 1912 BJ06
    |    |--R. (Raspailia) vestigifera Dendy 1896 MG-H11
    |    |--R. (Clathriodendron) desmoxyiformis Hooper 1991 MG-H11
    |    `--R. (Syringella) rhaphidophora Hentschel 1912 BJ06
    `--Hymeraphia BJ06
         |--H. aruensis Hentzschel 1912 BJ06
         |--H. calochela Hentschel 1912 BJ06
         |--H. distincta Thiele 1903 BJ06
         |--H. lendenfeldi Hentschel 1912 BJ06
         |--H. longitoxa Hentschel 1912 BJ06
         |--H. rhopalophora Hentschel 1912 BJ06
         |--H. similis Thiele 1903 BJ06
         |--H. tetrastyla Hentschel 1912 BJ06
         |--H. thielei Hentschel 1912 BJ06
         `--H. toxifera Hentschel 1912 BJ06

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[BJ06] Barnich, R., & D. Janussen. 2006. Die Typen und Typoide des Naturmuseums Senckenberg, Nr. 86. Type catalogue of the Porifera in the collections of the Senckenberg Museum in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Senckenbergiana Biologica 86 (2): 127–144.

Hooper, J. N. A. 1991. Revision of the family Raspailiidae (Porifera : Demospongiae), with description of Australian species. Invertebrate Taxonomy 5: 1179–1418.

[MG-H11] McEnnulty, F. R., K. L. Gowlett-Holmes, A. Williams, F. Althaus, J. Fromont, G. C. B. Poore, T. D. O'Hara, L. Marsh, P. Kott, S. Slack-Smith, P. Alderslade & M. V. Kitahara. 2011. The deepwater megabenthic invertebrates on the western continental margin of Australia (100–1100 m depths): composition, distribution and novelty. Records of the Western Australian Museum Supplement 80: 1–191.