A guide to the deep-water sponges of - NMFS Scientific Publications ...

64 Professional Paper NMFS 12
48. Echinoclathria vasa Lehnert, Stone and Heimler, 2006
Description. This sponge has a stalked vase with a
flared lip and a markedly concave surface; walls are
5–10 mm in thickness. Consistency, except for the stalk,
is very soft and elastic. In areas of water current this species
typically bends over near the base and sometimes
lies in contact with the seafloor. Height is to 13 cm and
width to 3 cm. Color in life is light yellow to creamy
white; golden brown after freezing.
Skeletal structure. SEM images of spicules are shown
in Appendix IV. The ectosome is a thin membrane
packed with anchorate isochelas (21–27 µm). The choanosome
consists of paucispicular tracts of thick styles
(760–920 × 16–21 µm) and brushes of thin styles that fan
out towards the surface with many isochelas in between.
Thin styles (740–1230 × 4–6 µm) are slightly curved to
sinuous and have finely acanthose heads.
Zoogeographic distribution. Locally common. In
Alaska – central Aleutian Islands. Elsewhere – not
reported.
Habitat. Occurring individually on exposed bedrock,
cobbles, and pebbles at depths between 622 and 876 m
and generally in low-relief (i.e., flat-bottomed) habitats.
Photos. 1) Preserved (frozen) specimen collected at
a depth of 744 m in the central Aleutian Islands. Grid
marks are 1 cm 2 . 2) Same specimen as in photo 1 in situ
during collection. 3) Same specimen as in photos 1 and
2 in situ showing detail of the flared lip.