Family:
Gran,idae
Dendy,
1892

Synute
Dendy
1892

Synute
pulchella
Dendy
1892 Specimen:
WAM
Z1404

Locality:
West
Australia,
Reru
Island,
Houtman
Abrolhos Dendy
described
the
growth
of
the
Synute
holotype
as
follows:


Figure
A3.1.1:
Specimen
of
Calcarea.

A:
 Habitus
of
Sycon
cf.
carteri.
The
skeletal
arrangement
and
aquiferous
system
is

shown
in
Chapter
3,
Fig
3.8;
B:
Habi‐

tus
of
Synute
pulchella.
For
other
features
see
Chapter
3,
Fig.
3.6
and
Fig.
A3.1.2;
C:
Skeletal
arrangement
of
Leucandra
 sp.,
arrows
pint
to
the
 large
 diac<nes
that
perpendicular
 to
the
 surface
 of
 the
 sponge;
D:
 Transverse
 sec<on
of
Tei‐

chonopsis
labyrinthica.
Due
to
the
special
growth
form
of
this
species,
the
 edge
corresponds
to
the
 osculum
and
is
sup‐

ported
by
large
diac<nes
(arrows).
The
upper
side
('atr')
corresponds
to
the
 gastral
surface,
the
lower
side
to
the
exter‐

nal
surface.
E:
Transverse
sec<on
of
SycePusa
cf.
simplex,
the
arrow
points
to
the
unpaired
angle
of
an
subcor<cal
pseu‐

dosagihal
spicules.F:
Habitus
of
SycePusa
aff.
has@fera;
the
sponge
is
about
1.5
cm
long
 and
about
3
mm
in
diameter.


Abbrevia<ons:
atr=atrium;
cx=cortex;
ext=exterior
of
the
sponge.

‘If we imagine a colony of the Sycon³ genus Ute, whose component members, growing more or less vertically upwards side by side, have become fused together completely, so that the whole col-ony forms a single vallate mass in which the individuals can only be recognised externally by their oscula, we have then a tolerably accurate conception of the new genus Synute. The fusion of the

3
Sycon
is
used
in
the
sense
of
'syconoid'
here Figure
A3.1.2:
Synute
pulchella

WAM
Z1404
(A,B,C)
in
comparison
to
the
holotype
(D,E,F:
 Slides
from
Bri<sh
Museum
for
Natural
History,
25.11.1.1680
 sec<ons
and
spicules
from
the
Dendy
collec<on).
A,B,
 D,
E:
transverse
sec<ons,
arrows
point
to
giant
longitudinal
diac‐

<nes
 in
B
 and
D.
C,
 F:spicule
 prepara<ons.
 Abbrevia<ons:
 Abbrevia<ons:
 atr=atrium;
 cx=cortex;
 ext=exterior
 of
the
 sponge;
ih=
inhalant
canals.

Sycon individuals of which the colony is composed is complete (extending right up to the oscula) and universal, and by no means partial or accidental, and the entire colony is protected on the out-side by a thick common cortex consisting mainly of huge oxeote spicules.’
(Dendy,
1892
p.
1).

The
observed
specimen
differs
from
this
descrip<on
of
Synute
pulchella
in
that
the
fusion
of
syco‐

noid
units
is
not
universal
and
the
colony
does
not
form
one
mass
with
a
meandriniform
surface.


Instead
it
is
composed
of
modules
of
 two
to
four
syconoid
units,
which
are
fused
in
their
en<re
 length
and
covered
by
a
common
cortex.
Nonetheless,
the
contour
of
the
syconoid
units
is
recog‐

nizable
by
smooth
impressions
in
the
cortex
 (Fig.
A3.1.1,
B).
In
 the
transverse
sec<on,
the
atrial
 cavi<es
appear
 elongated
in
contrast
to
the
almost
circular
 atrial
cavi<es
found
in
the
holotype
 (Fig.
A3.1.2,
A,
D).
The
exhalant
opening
of
choanocytes
chambers
of
our
specimen
of
S.
pulchella
 are
not
reaching
the
atrial
skeleton,
as
they
do
in
the
holotype.
Spicula<on
and
organiza<on
oth‐

erwise
do
not
seem
to
significantly
differ
(Fig.
A3.1.2).
Without
more
specimen
of
this
monotypic
 genus
 it
is
 not
 possible
 to
 decide
 whether
 the
 men<oned
 differences
are
due
 to
 plas<city
 in
 Synute
 pulchella,
 and
 represent
different
growth
form
of
 the
 same
species,
 or
if
 WAM‐
 Z1404
 might
belong
to
a
new
Synute
species.
For
now,
we
determined
this
specimen
as
Synute
pulchella.

Ute
Schmidt,
1862 Ute
aff.
syconoides

Specimens:
GW
975,
QM
G313694,
QM
G323233

Locali<es
(in
 the
order
 of
 specimen):
 GBR,
 Australia,
 Lizard
Island;
 GBR,
Yonge
Reef;
Tasmania,
 King
Island
Canyons

Individual
tubular
sponges.
Giant
longitudinal
diac<nes
(up
to
four
in
a
row)
are
present
and
sup‐

port
the
cortex
(Chapter
3,
Fig.
3.6,
A,B).
The
ar<culated
choanoskeleton
is
made
up
by
numerous
 rows
of
sagihal
triac<nes.
The
atrial
skeleton
contains
tetrac<nes
with
the
apical
ray
protruding
to
 the
atrium.
Subatrial
triac<nes
may
have
a
very
long
unpaired
ac<ne
(more
than
four
<mes
the
 size
of
the
paired
ac<nes),
which
is
poin<ng
to
the
outside
of
the
sponge.
The
aquiferous
system
is
 syconoid.
Only
the
individuals
of
GW
975
and
QM
G313694
are
complete
individuals
and
possess
 osculae
with
a
fringe
consis<ng
of
diac<nes.
We
found
our
specimen
to
closely
resemble
Ute
sy‐

conoides
(described
as
Aphroceras
syconoides
on
p.135
in
Carter,
1886;
see
also
Plate
11,
Figs
12
 and
13
in
Dendy,
1893),
except
that
Ute
 syconoides
has
a
naked
osculum.
Therefore
we
refer
to
 our
specimen
as
Ute
aff.
syconoides.


Aphroceras
Gray,
1858 Aphroceras
sp.


Specimen:
SAM
PS
0349

Locality:
Tasmanian
Peninsula,
Waterfall
Bay

Sponge
formed
of
cylindrical
tubes
united
at
their
base.
The
cortex
 and
the
thick
artrial
skeleton


are
supported
 by
giant
 diac<nes
(Chapter
 3,
Fig.
3.6.
 D).
 The
 choanosomal
 skeleton
comprises
 sagihal
triac<nes,
 the
unpaired
ac<ne
generally
 poin<ng
to
 the
outside
of
 the
sponge
and
 sup‐

por<ng
the
leuconoid
aquiferous
system.
The
atrium
is
narrow.
Large
exhalant
channels
open
into
 the
atrium.

Gran<idae
with
giant
longitudinal
diac<nes
in
the
cor<cal
and
the
artrial
skeleton
are
allocated
to
 the
 genus
Amphiute,
 but
 the
 diagnosis
 of
 the
species
 includes
 a
 syconoid
 aquiferous
 system.


Therefore
we
allocated
this
specimen
to
genus
Aphroceras.
Aphroceras
is
characterized
by
giant
 longitudinal
diac<nes
in
the
cortex
and
a
leuconoid
aquiferous
system;
therefore
the
presence
of
 the
(sub‐)
atrial
longitudinal
diac<nes
is
not
excluded
in
the
genus
diagnosis.

Leucandra
Haeckel,
1872 Leucandra
sp.


Specimen:
QM
G316285

Locality:
Pacific,
Coral
Sea,
Osprey
Reef

This
specimen
was
referred
 to
 as
Aphroceras
sp.
in
a
previous
study
(Dohrmann
et
al.,
2006).
A
 closer
examina<on
revealed
that
this
specimen
belongs
to
the
genus
Leucandra.
A
layer
of
triac‐

<nes
forms
the
cortex.
Larger
diac<nes
are
present,
but
do
not
lay
longitudinal
to
support
the
cor‐

tex
 as
typical
for
Aphroceras.
Instead
they
 are
radially
arranged
and
protrude
the
surface
of
 the
 sponge
(Fig.
A3.1.
1,
C).
This
is
characteris<c
for
Gran<idae
of
the
genus
Leucandra.


Teichonopsis
Dendy
&
Row,
1913 Teichonopsis
labyrinthica
(Carter
1878) Specimen:
SAM
PS
0228

Locality:
Australia,
Kangaroo
Island

The
specimen
shows
the
typical
pedunculate
calyciform
growth
form
of
this
species,
with
a
folded
 wall.
The
atrium
is
greatly
expanded,
comprising
the
inner
side
of
the
cormus
(Fig.
A3.1.1,
D).
The
 syconoid
choanosome
is
supported
by
an
ar<culated
skeleton
forming
 radial
tubes
with
triac<ne
 spicules.
The
edge
of
the
folded
wall
corresponds
to
the
oscular
margin.
It
contains
large
diac<nes
 with
a
sharp
pointed
end
poin<ng
inwards
and
a
blunt
end
poin<ng
to
or
protruding
the
edge
(Fig.


A3.1.1,
D,
arrows).