(Bowerbank, 1866)

Species Overview

Crella (Yvesia) albula (Bowerbank, 1866) is a very thinly encrusting whitish sponge with typical crellid spiculation, i.e. with a crust of spined spicules at the surface (microscopic examination). It is known from only a few records in the North Atlantic.

Taxonomic Description

Colour: White in the dried state.
Shape, size, surface and consistency: Thin, small crusts on shells, not exceeding 1 cm in widest expansion. Surface smooth. Oscules (or pore fields) scattered.
Spicules: (Crella albula Burton) (Halichondria albula spics) Megascleres: Tornotes style-like with a rounded and a pointed end, smooth, straight: 210-360 x 2-6 µm; ectosomal acanthostyles, some verging towards acanthoxeas, curved: 100-120 x 2-3 µm. Microscleres: Arcuate isochelae: 18-28 µm.
Skeleton: Ectosomal: a tangential crust of acanthostyles. Choanosomal: irregular bundles of tornotes.
Ecology: 7-180 m
Distribution: Shetlands, Norway.
Etymology: albulus (Latin) = whitish.
Type specimen information: The type is in the Natural History Museum, London: BMNH 1930:7:3:242 (Bk 651) (dry + slide).

Remarks

This is an ill-known species which apparently occurs over a great depth range in the Northern Atlantic.
Source: Arndt, 1935.

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Porifera
Class Demospongiae
Order Poecilosclerida
Suborder Myxillina
Family Crellidae
Genus Crella
Subgenus Yvesia
Species Crella albula

Status in World Register of Marine Species

Synonym of Crella (Yvesia) albula (Bowerbank, 1866)

Scientific synonyms and common names

Halichondria albula n.sp. Bowerbank, 1866: 268; 1874: 112, pl. XLV figs. 21-24.
Dendoryx albula: Gray, 1867: 536.
Myxilla albula: Vosmaer, 1880: 128.
Myxilla exigua n.sp.Hansen, 1885: 11, pl. II fig. 2.
Grayella albula: Lundbeck, 1910: 37.
Crella albula: Burton, 1930a: 494, 506, fig. 5; Arndt, 1935: 75, fig. 153.

Arndt, W., 1935. Porifera. Tierwelt Nord.-Ostsee, IIIa: 1-140, figs. 1-239.

Bowerbank, J.S., 1866. A monograph of the British Spongiadae, II. Ray Society, London: i-xx, 1-388.

Bowerbank, J.S., 1874. A monograph of the British Spongiadae, III. Ray Society, London: i-xvii, 1-367, pls. I-XCII.

Burton, M., 1930a. Norwegian sponges from the Norman collection. Proc. zool. Soc. London, 2: 487-546.

Gray, J.E., 1867. Notes on the arrangement of sponges, with the description of some new genera. Proc. zool. Soc. London, 1867: 492-558, 2 pls.

Hansen, G. Armauer, 1885. Spongiadae. Norw. North Atlant. Exped., 1876-78 (Zool.), 13: 1-26, pls. 1-7.

Lundbeck, W., 1910. Porifera. Part III. Desmacidonidae (pars). Danish Ingolf Exped., 6: 1-124, 11 pls.

Vosmaer, G.C.J., 1880. The sponges of the Leyden Museum. 1. The family of the Desmacidinae. Notes Leyden Mus., 2: 99-164.

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